Whispers of Manika City
by S. A. Morley
Summary: A month after the events of Sonic Heroes, each team receives an urgent distress call from a faraway ocean city. All oblige and arrive, yet, find no trouble. Losing their guards, little do they realize that they have been led into a trap, and into the hands of a new, ravenous enemy.
1. The Voice in the Stereo

** Hello, all! This is RigelGlyth, now officially back in the writing business. I hit a roadblock on **_**Cursed**_**, so I decided to let that one sit a while. I've been inspired by Sonic Heroes lately, and thought I'd write something about it. **

** The SEQUEL! (well, my version, anyway)**

** I hope all who read like it. I'm going to put much effort into this thing. :) This first chapter is from Sonic's perspective, so don't get confused! (please pardon my errors, thank you!)**

** Anyway, read on! Chapter one.**

"C'mon, Knuckles!" I teased, the breeze in my quills. Smirking, I eyed the red echidna as he puffed down the track sluggishly.

"Gaah, can we stop? I'm dyin' here!" He wheezed, sweat pouring down his head in the sweltering summer heat. I snickered at the way his dreadlocks bounced. For some reason, it was funny.

"No way! I'm just getting warmed up!" I smiled and looked over my shoulder as I slow-jogged backwards, spotting Tails on the bottom row of a set of bleachers. Beside him was an old stereo that he mysteriously acquired, which was humming a recent Crush 40 track. He was sitting beneath the shade of an umbrella, immersed in the study of a large blueprint that was draped on the stacked benches. He'd been awfully engrossed in that thing for the past few days.

Knuckles groaned, recapturing my attention. "Yeah, you're warmed up. I'm all burned out! Can I at least sit down? We've been circling this stupid track for an hour!" His feet pounded audibly, whereas mine were silent.

I gave him a quizzical look. "And?"

A vein pulsed in his forehead. "_And _I'm getting sick of _running!"_

The two of us swerved around the curved turn, I still jogging backwards. "Aw, is Knux outta shape?" I pouted my lip while his lip curled.

"I am not!"

"Oh, really?"

"Darn right!"

"You weren't this exhausted when we sprinted through Grand Metropolis." I accused.

He frowned. "Hey, there were moving floors there, of course I wasn't tired, Sonic!"

"Were you tired when we broke through Casino Park? How about in Frog Forest? Mystic Mansion?"

"No, no, and _no! _I wasn't tired then because-"

"Because what?"

Knuckles' face flushed. "Er..."

I sniggered. "Because you were in shape!" Suddenly I had an idea to get under the echidna's skin. "You're just jealous of this flawlessly sculpted body." I struck a pose and flashed a smile, my actions landing directly on that bulging nerve in the guy's head.

"Ya strutting, egotistical little-!" Even though I knew it was coming, Knuckles tackled me. We were sent rolling across the baking rubber of the track, his spiked fists swinging for my head. I dodged with a big grin, laughing even when he punched me in the gut and tossed me onto the abandoned high school's overgrown lawn. He jumped high and blocked the sun with his silhouette. Spitting dandelions out of my mouth, I rolled out of his way when he landed in a mushroom cloud of weeds.

"C'mere, you rat! I'll get you for your taunts!" Knuckles roared through the blizzard of crabgrass and morning glory. "That was the last time you make fun of me!" He breathed in heavily through his nostrils with his teeth bared.

I whimsically strolled around in a leisurely manner, chuckling at how angry he was. It doesn't take much to get Knuckles in a frenzy. In fact, it was fun to bug him sometimes. "I've known you for how long, and yet I still make fun of you. Trust me, Knux, it ain't the last time." I prepared myself for the spontaneous combustion.

Instead, his eyelid began twitching, and then tears glistened in his eyes. I watched in wonder as the echidna's upper lip wiggled back and forth frantically. "Are you okay, dude?" I asked, a little freaked out.

And then he sneezed.

The sheer power of his snort caused another cloud of weeds to flutter around him as if they were dancing something tribal. He blew himself back onto his butt, a mad torrent of the dandelion's fluffs whizzing about him like a horde of crazed insects. I collapsed and began to giggle uncontrollably once the chaos cleared, and Knuckles sat in the center of a small ring of sneeze-blown weeds.

"Hey Knux," I stammered around guffaws. "Bless you- _pffph-_ ha ha ha ha!" I rolled onto my back and tried to catch my breath. I hadn't had this much fun in a long time.

Knuckles wiped his nose and blinked several times. "Stupid dandelions..." He grumbled, smashing a cluster of the things flat.

I stood, held my aching stomach and walked to Knuckles, who was violently pummeling the innocent plants beneath his fist to mush. "Need a hand, buddy?"

He stopped and gave me a resentful glance, but swallowed his fury and took my palm. He heaved himself to his feet, and, for a moment, studied me intently. Knuckles pointed at me with four fingers, taking in a short breath. "One day, Sonic. One day I'll get you back for all that humiliation." Then he turned away in a swirl of dreadlocks, and began striding towards Tails.

I shrugged and followed. "Whatever you say."

Knuckles and I hadn't had a decent (yet friendly, mind you) fight for quite a while. Ever since we stopped Metal Sonic and Eggman's plot to take over the world, our fighting relationship had simmered. To admit, I kinda missed Knuckles exploiting his outrage on me. Made me feel like a kid again.

Anyway, we both approached the little blond fox, whose gaze was glued to that blueprint I mentioned earlier. He sat in deep pondering, with his feet propped on the portable cooler we had stashed all our food in.

See, for the past month, Team Sonic had wandered the continent apathetically. Knuckles spent most of his time musing over his past. Tails, as I said, was addicted to that blue piece of paper that I couldn't for the life of me understand, and I had tagged along as we drifted around, going on joy runs every so often and raiding grocery stores for our favorite snacks. We mostly slept underneath the stars every night, and rarely stayed in one place for more than a few days. After dealing with Dr. Egghead and his idiotic plots, this seemed to be the envy of my days. But I still felt something was missing...

Little did I know that my life was about to get a whole lot more interesting.

Tails briefly looked up from his paper at Knuckles and I. "Hey guys. What's up?"

I knelt and gently brushed his feet off the cooler lid, popping it open and scanning the interior. "Not much. Knuckles sneezed." I felt his glower burn on me. I smiled. "Anything with that blueprint?"

Tails brightened considerably. "Finally, someone is curious enough to ask!" I was startled. He was waiting for me to ask about it?

"Uh... yeah?"

His brightness faded slightly as he pursed his lips. "This blueprint is throwing me for a loop."

I seized the last soda from the cooler and stood, peering at the displayed print. "How so?" Knuckles reached into the cooler after me and grabbed a saran-wrapped roast beef sandwich, tearing the wrap off and plopping himself against the umbrella's pole. The shade swayed as he took a huge bite.

Tails scratched his head. "This model seems highly impossible to build, let alone operate." I took a seat by the twin-tailed fox and followed the faint silver lines of the blueprint with my eyes. The drawing on the print was extremely complex, along with the margins outside the sketch riddled with migraine-inducing equations and symbols. Stuff like '_p-58329z~Q' _that made no sense_. _There was no title to the piece. As I stared at it, I realized that it was depicting what looked to be a complicated flying helmet, equipped with dozens of wires on top. "None of this computes!"

"Impossible? It's just a helmet, Tails," I commented bluntly. "Nothing too special."

Tails' expression gave the impression that I had slapped him. _"'Nothing too special'?_ Sonic! This has got to be the latest, most intricate technology on Mobius! How could you say that?"

I shrugged. "I dunno."

"Because he's an idiot." Knuckles snickered. I shot him a glare, kicking the stereo off the bench and sending it shooting into his shoulder. "Ouch! Take it easy, speedy." He rubbed his arm and picked up the device, shifting between stations with the dial.

I continued, ignoring him. "Where'd you get this thing anyhow?"

Tails reached behind him and brought up his trusty backpack. "I'm not exactly sure. One morning, I woke up to find it sticking out of my pack." He unzipped it and showed me the empty bag, save for his tool box. "The blueprint was there and so was the stereo."

Knuckles held it up. "I don't see why you keep this hunk of trash. It has terrible quality." He examined the stereo in distaste on all sides, chomping his nearly finished sandwich with his other hand. "Someone was just trying to get rid of their crap and stuck it into your pack, Tails."

"That's not true! This blueprint is not crap, Knuckles. This is an advanced work of art that requires my intelligent understanding to decipher." Tails defended his blueprint, lightly poking it during his sentence triumphantly.

Knuckles' eyes bugged. "Mind dumbing that down?" He twisted his head back to look at us.

I bit my tongue from saying anything further. I could have butted heads with Knuckles again, but I restrained myself from it. Oh, the fireworks that would've blown if I'd blurted what I was thinking...

Tails exhaled dramatically. "Fine, then. The blueprint is valuable and needs to be figured out by _me. _Because I _can_ do it_." _He re-explained slowly in monotone.

"Thank you. That was much better," Knuckles replied, wadding the saran-wrap into a ball and tossing it into a trash bucket that overflowed with garbage. He crossed his arms behind his head and closed his eyes, leaning against the umbrella and tapping his toe to the beat of 'Won't Stop, Just Go!' which had just bleated out of the buffed speaker of the stereo.

I rolled my eyes at his attitude and focused on the blueprint. "What do you think it is, Tails?"

His cerulean eyes glittered. "I've been making some estimates, Sonic, but I haven't imagined anything probable yet." He picked up a hand-held spiral notepad from his lap and a stubby pencil. I noticed the small list he had made on the lined page- _Fight simulation helmet, Dream amplifier, Nightmare eradicator, Thought processor, Telekinetic enhancer. _My eyes wandered and Tails chuckled halfheartedly. "None of these are practical, I know."

But I wasn't listening. I had spotted something that stuck out to me at that very moment. "Tails..." I murmured, my gaze fixed on the bottom right hand corner of the blueprint.

"What is it, Sonic?"

"Have you noticed those initials?" I caught his interest, and showed him the small, elegantly written letters: _MM._

He leaned closer to the page, nose almost touching it. "Huh! No! I thought those were part of this really long quadratic equation!" Tails marveled at the penmanship and chewed his lip. I could tell his mind was racing as fast as I could run. While he was distracted, I popped open my soda and took a few swigs of the fizzy drink.

"Who is MM?" the fox mumbled in fascination.

"Beats me," I said stupidly after swallowing. "Probably the inventor or something."

"Yeah. But why would they abandon something as brilliant as this, though?" Tails tilted his head, puzzled. "I mean, this is positively genius! I have no idea what it means, yet it's brilliant!"

I shrugged. "Maybe they were done with it. Maybe they didn't need the blueprints anymore."

Tails sat back and sighed again, his ears drooping. "Agh, I just don't know. It's all so unclear." He rolled up the blueprint gingerly. "Why drop this on me?"

I set down the soda bottle. "Because you're smart, Tails. You can figure out anything you set your mind to."

He gave me a grateful smile. "Thanks, Sonic."

"Don't mention it."

He sniffed and gave up on trying to understand the sketch, softly setting it back inside his backpack. Then he removed and tore open a pouch of barbecue flavored chips from the cooler. He crunched on a few of them with his brows knitted together in disgruntled thought. His pair of tails squirmed behind him.

After a screech from the radio, Knuckles' eyes suddenly flipped open. "What the...?" He grasped the thing tightly and raised it up to his head.

Tails and I looked over. "What is it, Knuckles?" he wondered aloud.

"The radio... just called my name..."

Tails and I exchanged bewildered glances. "Huh?"

"Listen!" The echidna sprung to his feet and ran over to us, spinning the volume dial to maximum. Heavy static emanated from the grungy speaker, filling our ears. We each pressed closer. For a moment, I couldn't hear anything but the static popping.

Then the choked, female voice shouted hysterically: "Tails! Sonic! Knuckles! Any hero that can receive this transmission! I don't have much time, so please heed my plea! We are in perilous danger, and need immediate assistance. I don't know how long we can-" An immense explosion blasted over her for a few seconds. The three of us cringed. The sound dimmed. "-heinous, sickening deeds. This is unlike anything I've ever seen." People howled behind her as she faded away momentarily, going silent. "Help us! We are in Manika City, on the cape of Windchine Island in the Emerald Sea! You mustn't delay, anyone! He's taken over Manika. The Monarch-"

Another voice overpowered her. "What do you think _you're_ doing?" The man hissed, and I could feel the evil that oozed from his words. I shivered, as did Knuckles and Tails. Scratching and struggling sounded afterward, as if he were dragging her across the ground.

"No, no! You won't take me- _Auggghhh-!"_ Her scream cut off unexpectedly, and then the radio signal died.

The three of us were frozen in our spots, looking up from the stereo and at each other in petrified awe. "Whoa." I muttered.

Tails gulped. "What are we going to do, Sonic?"

"Did you not hear her?" Knuckles spat. "That was an urgent distress call. We have to answer it!" He shook a fist and made a determined face. "If we can take down Metal Sonic, we can definitely take down this Monarch guy! Let's go!"

I remained seated and placed a hand on my chin. "Manika City... I've never been there, but I've heard about it." I reviewed my mental maps of Mobius. "Windchine Island shouldn't be too hard to get to."

"Should we take a boat?" Tails asked, shaking off his fear.

"Yeah. That's about the only way we can get there," I looked at Knuckles, who was waiting for me to approve our journey to Manika. "We better get going if we wanna stop this Monarch in time." He grinned, rubbing his hands together.

"This should be interesting! Ha ha! Let's do this!"

Tails rose and glanced about our makeshift camp. "I'll start packing. You two figure out a route to the nearest bay and a boat we can ride to get to the island." With that said, he bent down and yanked the umbrella from the ground and collapsed it, stuffing it into the cooler. Then he fished around his backpack's extra pockets and slipped me a roadmap.

Knuckles and I knelt around it after spreading it out. "Let's see..." My eyes zipped around the page.

"We want to get to Manika A.S.A.P.," He said, pointing to the black dot printed on the tip of the Windchine illustration. "The best place to hitch a ride would be..."

"Emerald Bay." The port's name was pretty much self explanatory, seeing as it bordered the Emerald Sea. "It's about 50 miles from this place. Think you two can handle it?"

Knuckles gave me a nod, and Tails agreed with, "Right!"

I crunched the road map and held it tight, Tails strolling up with his backpack over his shoulder and the cooler in his grip. The bag of chips he had been snacking on crinkled in his backpack. "That's it, then," I smiled confidently at my teammates. "Team Sonic, let's move out!"

"Gotcha!" Knuckles hollered.

"Okay!" Tails cheered.

I faced forward, holding my comrades by their arms. Without hesitation I shot forward with them dangling behind me like flags. I whooped and soared down the countryside.

"SONIC SPEEEEEEED!"

* * *

After shooting 50 miles, three of us skidded to a hasty stop with the briny sea breeze churning from every direction. Knuckles' and Tails' hair was windblown, but they were excited to witness the sight of the Emerald Sea just as I was. My quills whipped around my head playfully in the gales as I jovially took in my surroundings.

The bay was rapidly blooming, and inhabited by posh, expensive hotels that towered high overhead. These skyscraping buildings were surrounded by the stout motels and markets that dotted the place. Dozens of Mobians paced about happily trading and chatting. Hordes of parasols bounced throughout the crowds, carried by ladies, who were protecting their complexions. Docks crowded with ships cluttered the seaside as the tides pushed in. Temperature of eighty degrees was comfortable and the humidity was pleasant, the sunshine warm. The babble of a hundred conversations mixed with the nostalgic sound of waves colliding with sand. It was nearly cloudless, the mid-afternoon sun high overhead and casting glamorous golden rays onto the white dunes and the green waters.

That's right, I said green.

The Emerald Sea was the color of emeralds! Ironic name, I know. It was the most popular sea on Mobius, along with the most colorful. No one really knew the reason why it was green, however, which was why it attracted so many people. The tourist business boomed on cruise liners, coral reef tours, hotels, and snorkeling and scuba diving. The people who ran their companies made a killing on this bay. It was packed pretty much all year long.

"Wow. I didn't think the sea would literally be _green."_ Knuckles gaped, squinting over the heads of people and into the shimmering ocean. He began to pat his dreads back into place, grinning. "This is cool!"

Tails breathed in the heavenly salty air. "Aah, this reminds me of Seaside Hill!" Memories flashed in his eyes. "I loved that place! Could we go swimming, Sonic?"

I smiled. "Now remember guys, we're not here to relax. We need to find a ride to get to Manika." I scouted the horizon of plentiful boats, looking for something fast. "See anything yet?"

"Let's get closer to the docks," Knuckles suggested, plodding down the grassy hill we stood upon. "We won't find anything good from a distance."

"Sounds like a plan." Tails and I went after him, descending the hill and stepping onto the cobbled stones of Emerald Bay's streets. We squeezed through the populated walkways, Knuckles shoving our path clear while I held Tails by the wrist and took him in tow behind me. Eventually we forced our way past the bunches of people and onto the more vacant docks.

Walking alongside the beach, we each inspected the moored boats. There were tall boats for sailing, stocky pontoons, sleek yachts, and a few enormous, exotic canoes. Every vessel bobbed in the tumble of the tides, which was calming. Out of the variety of water crafts, I vaguely wondered what kind of boat we would take. I gravitated towards the streamlined speed boats. If I was fast on land, I could be fast on water too, couldn't I?

As we admired the vessels, a pair of cat girls passing by murmured amongst themselves, giving us affectionate stares. I gave them a nod, cracking a courteous grin. They giggled and blushed rosy red. Once they were behind us, I looked away and shuddered, thoughts of Amy inveigling me haunting my thoughts. I hadn't had contact with her for a month before the Metal Sonic incident, and it had been a month since I'd seen her last.

Was this a continuous cycle? I sure hoped not.

Tails noticed my unease. "You okay?"

I snickered. "Just perfect."

Knuckles stopped and gathered us under a seafood restaurant's awning. He folded his arms and looked out to the emerald water. "Well? What are we doing?"

"Maybe we should ask the marina managers. I'm sure they'd be happy to find us a good boat to take." Tails said.

I nodded. "Should we split up and look around?" Afterward I regretted my statement. I refused to be accidentally caught alone with those flirtatious girls that had waltzed by. Not to mention being mobbed by the fans I most likely had here. Before Knuckles could protest, I waved my hands in disagreement. "Forget it! Let's just say together, shall we?"

He made a face. "All right then...? Hm..." He whirled around and began searching again, this time pointing to a raccoon man that was standing on the edge of the dock, feuding with a husky man who was wildly flailing his arms in ire. "What's with those two?"

Tails tuned in with his large ears. "They're fighting..." he muttered. "Over a boat!" He smiled broadly.

"Ya mean it?" I said.

"Uh-huh. Let's go!" He grabbed me by the cuff of my glove and tugged me in his wake.

_"Nyaagh!" _I stumbled to regain my footing at his surprise jerk, bidding Knuckles to come along once I could walk regularly. He huffed in frustration, but followed as the distance between us and the disputing men closed. We could hear their loud conversation clearly.

"Are you kidding me? I am _not_ paying that much for that wreck of metal you call a boat, Jones!" the copper husky grunted. "Those prices are ridiculous!" He stomped his foot powerfully, loosening one of the dock's white boards.

The grey raccoon tapped his foot and gestured behind him to the smoking speed boat that was sloshing with water. It reeked of propane. "You told me you could repair it, sir, and you could not. Our deal was that if you could fix it, you could have it. Now you must pay me for making my poor little boat worse." He held out his hand and wiggled his fingers impatiently. "I'm still waiting for my 600,000 rings."

_"That junk heap ain't worth even a single ring, you greedy liar!" _

The raccoon called Jones yawned, holding his demanding position for that 600,000 ring profit with his palm skyward. His eyelids were low. He said nothing, but watched his business partner with an expression like stone.

Then mister husky's temper exploded, and he threw his wallet to the floor, screaming. _"AAAUUUGGGHHHHH!" _The rings (miniature ones) spilled around Jones' feet in a chorus of tinkling. He looked at them, satisfaction forming on his face. _"I CAN'T TAKE IT!" _The husky stormed away, furious words spewing from his mouth in stark wrath. His ears were curled and his tail was writhing like a snake as he stomped his way around us and disappeared into the crowds.

I whistled. "Dang."

When I looked back to Jones, I found him knelt down, collecting his scattered payment whilst chuckling. He picked up the rings one by one, slipping them into his own wallet, each of them glinting. I noticed even from this far away that his wallet was brimming with rings, and seemed quite heavy in his hand. I frowned. How many people had he scammed to earn all of that cash?

Knuckles' jaw set, for he had seen the amount of money as well. He looked at me out of the corner of his eye. "Whaddya say we rob that jerk? I've got a plan."

I grinned and nodded. He approached Jones with Tails and I at his heels. "Excuse me," Knuckles said kindly.

Taking the last ring into his fingers, Jones' head snapped upward. "Good day to you. May I be of assistance?" He straightened to our level.

Knux placed his hands on his hips, forcing his friendly tone with the tip of his jagged tail twitching. "Yeah. We'd like to have that speed boat of yours. We couldn't help but overhear your uh... debate, and we want it." In the instant he said that, a large cloud of smoke burst from the engine and swirled into the sky.

The raccoon peeked over his shoulder and flinched. "You want that old thing?"

"Yup."

He scratched his chin thoughtfully and winked one eye. "For what purpose, might I ask, echidna?"

Knuckles gritted his teeth almost unnoticeably. "The three of us need to get to Windchine Island, pronto. There's uh..." He cut off, unsure of an excuse to make.

Jones waited. "There's a what?"

I exclaimed the first thing that appeared in my head. "W-we've got some relatives over there that need our help!"

Tails joined in, and at the wrong time, with the wrong word. "Baking!"

A moment of awkward silence passed.

Jones' brows shot towards his ears. "You three- a hedgehog, echidna, and fox- have some relatives on Windchine Island that need your help baking?" he repeated. While he considered our poor lie, Knuckles slapped his palm into his forehead, grumbling how much of a failure Tails was at improvising. I laughed under my breath.

But surprisingly, the guy bought it. "All right, boys. Since you want it that badly, I'll make you a deal. If you can fix it, I'll give it to you, free of charge." Mischief glinted in his spreading smile. "If you can't fix it, you have to pay me 600,000 rings in return." He stared us each in the face sternly. "Do we have an accord?"

"Hold up a sec, dude," Knuckles interrupted, raising a boxing glove. "That simply won't do."

"How so? These terms seem find to-"

"Let's heighten the stakes," Knux quickly said.

He paused midbreath. "I'm listening."

Knuckles cocked his head intimidatingly. "If we can fix your boat, we take it _and _all the money you have in your wallet."

Jones weighed the wallet as it jingled. "Very well. Then... if you _cannot_ fix the boat, I keep the boat, and I take _all_ of _your _money. How does that sound?"

The red echidna's jagged teeth shone in the sunshine as he bared them confidently. "Sounds like you've got yourself a deal." The two shook hands, and Jones stepped aside, a convinced smirk prominent on his features. He didn't think a trio of teenagers would be able to repair that scrap metal.

But we could fix it all right, with Tails' brilliant tech work. Besides, we barely had any rings as it was. Even if we did fail, the money-hungry salesman would get only 200 rings from the three of us combined. Man, Knuckles knew how to bargain!

"You ready, buddy?" He leapt off onto the cruddy speed boat, issuing Tails to follow. The little fox unzipped his pack in a second flat, unsheathing his faithful wrench and screwdriver. He seemed hungry for action, with the tools winking. I went and sat on the edge of the docks, ready to watch as Tails worked his magic.

"You got this, Tails! Knock 'em dead!" I declared.

"Don't worry, Sonic! I'll have this boat fixed in no time!" Then he dove beneath the steering wheel and began to tend to the boat's mechanics at whirlwind pace.

I twisted around. Behind me, Jones had wandered over to the seafood restaurant's outdoor tables. He sat himself down comfortably and called a waitress over. He ordered something and nonchalantly kicked back in his chair, oblivious to how much money he was about to cough up. I read the words on his lips: "Stupid kids..."

I turned back towards the nuts and bolts that were sailing through the air, and Knuckles being splattered in the face with oil. "Heh heh. Don't count your Chao before they hatch, Jones."

"Sonic, ya gotta see this! Tails is amazing!" Knuckles hollered. He dodged a hunk of sizzling metal that whizzed past his head. "I mean, he just cranks stuff like-" he snapped his fingers. "-that!"

"Well duh!" I shouted back. "That kid's a prodigy!"

Tails laughed from somewhere within the bowels of the boat. His voice was muffled as he replied,"This repair job is so easy, I could do it in my sleep!" He then popped out of nowhere, his white and yellow fur coated black. "Whoever tried fixing this before me made it a whole lot smoother by demolishing the parts that weren't necessary!"

I snickered. "Maybe it ain't Eggman who's got the IQ of 300..." Tails beamed.

"Hey, how long do you reckon this'll take?" Knuckles said after a few minutes of clanking and tinkering. He handed Tails a hammer. "That distress call sounded serious."

"Eh, who knows? It shouldn't be that long a wait. After all, he's a whiz at this stuff." I waved my hand. "Just chill for a bit, Knux. The people in Manika will be fine as soon as we get there." Even though I reassured Knuckles, I still had a hollow feeling, like we shouldn't be getting involved with this random cry for help.

Or maybe I was just imagining things?

Nah.

Ten minutes passed as Tails furiously worked. Knuckles suddenly took his place as his assistant, giving him tools and having small conversations with him as he performed his maintenance. In the meantime, Jones came over to judge our progress not a single time. I caught him sipping a large piña colada like he owned the beach. Slacker.

Eventually, Tails reappeared, covered from head to toe in gunk from the speed boat's apparatus. He brushed his sweat dampened bangs out of his eyes. "Done!"

I did a double take, nearly falling into the water. "Whoa!" The boat was shining a pearly white, the stench of propane gone. It looked completely new. "Tails! That's awesome!"

He blushed and wiped his fingers on his filthy fur. "I did my very best!"

Knuckles high-fived him. "You, my friend, are truly phenomenal. I have never seen you work that fast!"

Tails smiled sheepishly. "You said we had to get to Manika pronto, so I hurried. At least we're riding in style."

Before any of us could say anything further, the thumping of shoes on wood met our ears. We each turned to find Jones stampeding towards us, his jaw quite virtually resting on his chest. In his right hand was his fat wallet, and in the other, the drained drink. His piña colada clattered to his feet.

"How- wha- this is impossible! Nobody has repared my boat! _Nobody!"_ He stuttered, tongue tripping over his syllables. "You three cheated me!"

Knuckles landed at my side, sauntering over to Jones. "No, we just outsmarted you." He reached down and snatched his wallet. "I'll be taking that. Good day to you, sir."

I clapped the echidna on the shoulder and hopped onto our new boat. Crashing onto a polished bench, I held onto the shiny railing, satisfied with today's happenings. Tails picked up a wash rag and started to clean himself off, sitting next to me. Knuckles untied the rope that fastened the boat, took a seat behind the wheel, and turned the ignition key. The engine purring to life as he pushed us out of the moorings with ease.

With a powerful whirr of the speed boat's propellers, we all waved goodbye to Jones, standing stupefied on the dock. Knuckles stepped on the gas, sending buckets of emerald green seawater splashing onto the raccoon. As we skidded away, Jones' irked shouts slowly died with the gusts of wind and spray of waves.

"We really cleaned that chump's clock!" Knuckles cackled, his dreads billowing behind him. "Nice going, Tails!"

"Thanks, Knuckles! Say, how many rings did we get?" He held out his hands and Knuckles handed him the bulging wallet, one hand on the steering wheel effortlessly.

Tails dumped the money onto his lap and started counting. I leaned over and counted with him. "Hoo boy, I'd say about 800,500 rings right there!" I ecstatically cried. "That was some fine finagling, Team Sonic!"

Knuckles' eyes went wide. "800 thousand? _Yes! _We're rich again!"

_"Wahoo!"_

_ "All right!"_

Overhead, the sky was bright, the sea was stunning, and the weather was beyond compare as we skipped across the waves. The three of us cheered the entire way to Windchine, our merry whoops echoing out for entire Mobius to hear.

Team Sonic was back.

**Just to let you know, I purposefully made the character's words correspond with the sounds they make. All of those weirdly spelled expressions like: Nyaagh, were a sound made by Sonic. Kind of like the games, y'know?**

** Anyway, hope you enjoyed it. Stay tuned for Team Dark in the next chapter!**


	2. From Heroes to Thieves

**Hey! RigelGlyth again! Here's chapter two of **_**Whispers of Manika City, **_**and I must say I am proud to present it. It features Team Dark, from Shadow's perspective, and is very exciting! :D I 3 Shadow. XD**

** Anyway, here it is! Please enjoy, and review! And pardon my mistakes, if you find any. **

**Thanks!**

"You must learn to harness these abilities you have been bestowed, Shadow," Omega said firmly. "If you do, you could prove to be as powerful as I." Though there was some distance between where we were standing, I heard the various weapons within his wide arms tick clearly.

Giving him a sideways glance, I chortled. _"Could_ prove? What makes you think I'm not as powerful as you already? If not, more?" I cocked a brow and rubbed the ring on my wrist.

His red, luminous eyes sparkled with astonishment. "I am a robot. Robots are unbeatable." He then raised and shook a shining silver fist at the sky. "Doctor Eggman created me for destruction. I am the ultimate machine."

I snorted, kicking the dirt beneath my feet. His claim was ridiculous. "Ah, I see. So you think that if you talk like me, you're the greater creation? I don't think so, Omega!"

He straightened. "Is this an invitation to duel?"

I smirked. "You bet it is!"

"Let us begin."

We both charged at each other from opposites bases of the baseball diamond. Omega's hands retracted and unsheathed two flame throwers, which began to spew fire once he got the gas going. He torched the dirt on either side of him to a black dust, and engulfed grass in clouds of flames as he shot over the ground.

I sped towards the enormous robot, my thumb and middle finger locked together in preparation to snap. My actions didn't seem adequate for battle, yes, but he was in for a blast when we collided.

For over a month, Omega and I had been training since we conquered that Metal Sonic character and repulsed the Doctor. He wanted to become the mightiest adversary in the world- to be able to decimate anyone or anything he saw- so he would never be locked away again. Omega's ambitions were high, but his will to fulfill his wants was great. If I stood by the robot, I could feel the strength that emanated from him.

I on the other hand, desired only to control my building powers. Which, I must add, are devastating if I use them correctly.

At this moment, it was Power vs. Speed on an unscathed baseball diamond, which was soon to become nothing but a smoldering mess after Omega and I were finished here. While we fought, Rouge left momentarily to find some lunch in the town over the hill. She hated to watch us train.

This was our usual daily cycle: wake up, train, eat, get moving. It became tedious some days, but I had fallen into the schedule easily as Team Dark prowled the Mobian continent.

Anyway, the second I could see my determined reflection in Omega's chest, I snapped my fingers. It seemed deafening, but was nothing compared to the loud shriek that erupted after the snap. The heat from Omega's fire blasted my face for a moment, immediately replaced by a cold explosion that sent us both shooting back from the point we had met: the pitcher's mound.

Omega tumbled through the grass audibly, though I couldn't see him. I skidded on my feet, squinting through the column of thick grey smoke from the fire and the combination of the purple, nameless energy that I had just expelled through my snap. That was the mysterious and savage, pulsing power that I could feel every time I got into a physical fist fight. Rouge had her suspicions that it could've been Chaos Emerald force, but I didn't believe her. How could I be producing the sparks of the legendary Chaos Emeralds? It was, as Omega would say, severely illogical.

The ring of violet light faded slowly as Omega materialized through the pillar of smog. He stepped around the crater that was once the innocent pitcher's mound, heavily trudging towards me. He was unscratched.

"Impressive, Shadow, yet I must inquire that you seem to favor that method of attack," he said in that bland voice of his. With a flash of his eyes, the flame throwers disappeared, and were replaced by a pair of six barrel-machine guns. I ground my left foot into the grainy dirt, taking my fighting stance as he loaded them with a jerk of each shoulder. "Is there a particular cause for your favoritism?" He lifted up the firearms towards me.

I shrugged, smiling. "Not really." My fingertips were buzzing with purple flares, and my vision heightened on the glossy form of Omega. He stood out acutely while his surroundings softened to a single shade of mint green. I zeroed in on him, my unknown energy rushing through my body like a hyper adrenaline rush.

For two heartbeats, Omega and I faced each other silently. Then, in the blink of an eye, he fired both machine guns at breakneck speed. Fortunately for me, Omega's targeting system had never been of much use to him, so he simply swirled his arms in circles and fired bullets in my direction as fast as he could. I swerved and dodged as the dirt around me cracked skyward, reaching for the horizon before sinking back to the earth.

The racing _thuds _of the twin machine guns was disorienting, yet I managed to start my rocket shoes and sprint out of his line of fire in time. Bullets nicked at my heels, squealing against metal, and hot behind me as I darted here and there. Through the corner of my vision, Omega's feet remained sturdily planted facing North, while his upper body swerved full circle to aim those noisy guns at me. I chuckled and jumped above the baseball diamond twenty feet up, and with a wave of my hand, called, "Chaos Control!"

In a glint of violet, I was gone, leaving Omega clueless on the ground below. He ceased fire and scanned the hilly area for any sign of me. "Why must he cheat?" I laughed at his remark, though he did not hear me.

Now, when I perform Chaos Control, I alter time and move much faster than any being can detect. The rest of the world continues on as if nothing has happened, completely unchanged despite the fact that every hue has been desaturated to black and white in my vision.

While Omega moved in regular, easily paced motion, he glowed a rich purple. Certain people had their own auras when I used Chaos Control. I saw their effulgence as I became invisible to their sluggish eyes.

Rouge's main color was a shimmery indigo. Sonic's was a striking cyan, Tails a shifting gold, and Knuckles a radiant red. That curly-tailed chameleon expressed an off-blue, the large, headphone wielding crocodile a lime green, and that bee kid (who always gave me headaches) flashed bright crimson.

Even I had my own color. It shocked me that I once possessed sharp orange. But after we beat Metal Sonic into a shut down, my aura had reverted to that odd violet.

That was when my strange powers began to peek through.

Omega could have been squinting, if he had any eyelids. He cautiously padded around the burning ground, machine guns poised to fire at any movement. The blanched world was like a still photograph, the only thing appearing to be alive the brilliantly illuminated robot.

I wanted to finish the battle and take him by surprise. With Chaos Control's time slowing support waning, I kicked hard towards the ground and zoomed into the lawn. After a suffocating warp of white, I teleported back into regular time, landing a nose length away from Omega. He bleated in surprise when I clenched my fists and unleashed a sphere of violet energy that made the barrels of his machine guns curl. _"Raugh!"_

"Impossible." Omega beeped.

Ribbons of the entity swirled around me, throwing up dust. Omega stepped back and held up his arms to block his face as the gales whipped anything on the premises. He peeked through his wrists as I lowered my arms. "There you are."

I wiped some stray soil from my cheek. "There _you _are."

Omega then took back his damaged weaponry and hurled a vicious kick at me. I had barely enough time to evade when his arm came swinging through the air and whacked me right on the temple. As I stumbled, he caught me by the tail and threw me across the baseball diamond and flat on my back on top of home plate. My chaotic mind cut short of thought once I realized I could barely breathe.

Struggling to recover from getting the wind knocked from me, I rolled on the plate and attempted to get up. I stopped and laid still when I saw the wildly spinning, razor sharp claws hovering an inch from my eyes. Omega towered above me in a lunge, his one hand whirling around in a makeshift drill. He was absolutely silent as the dust we had roused settled gradually.

I finally sucked in a breath and collapsed onto home plate, gasping. Sudden exhaustion came over me like a wave. I felt numb as my energy depleted. The whizzing sound of Omega's drill quieted.

"Does this signify I am victor?" he asked solemnly.

_"Huh... huh..._ Yeah..." I wheezed. "Congratulations... You are... the ultimate machine..." Before, I would have winced at my statement. But now, defeat was at last a sweet victory. I needed to learn not to use up my energy reserves.

Omega lightened. He simply adored being the victor. He gently grabbed me by the shoulder and hoisted me to my feet, I holding my head and evening my breathing. I patted his metal arm. "Excellent job. You're lucky I decided to use Chaos Control without a Chaos Emerald." He watched me thoughtfully as I spoke. "Using that much... really takes a beating on you..."

He cocked his torso in confusion, unable to cock his flat head. _"Does not register._ What are you implying, Shadow?"

I shakily tromped over to the chain link fence that bordered the baseball field, he following. "That I would've beaten you if I'd had a Chaos Emerald, that's what," I replied with a confident twinge in my words. Sitting down, I shook my hair free of the reddish dirt from the field. "On top of that, I was being reckless."

Omega cogitated this as he sat down beside me smoothly. "So, this fight was unfair."

I looked at him. Hearing the distinct sadness in his robotic tone was startling. Omega rarely showed emotion, and on the occasions he did, he showed plain contempt and thirst for fighting. This wasn't his natural behavior. "Omega, are you all right?"

He remained still.

I shook his bulky shoulder. "Omega. Omega can you hear me?"

He didn't show any sign that he had noticed.

Sighing, I leaned against the fence, which rattled. What more could I do to gain his attention? He could stare at something for six hours straight and not even take heed of a semi-truck barreling by. Much less a disturbance as small as me. I decided to let him mope in whatever reason he had, closing my eyes and massaging a forming bruise on the side of my head. The birds chirped blissfully in the trees, mingling with one another in the sway of branches and whistle of breeze.

"Shadow."

I opened my eyes to find Omega's crimson gaze fixed on me. When he said my name, I could sense that there was something bothering him just by listening to the way his voice vibrated. The robot was _anxious._

"Yeah? What is it?"

"You are tired, correct?"

That was a bizarre question. "Uh, yes...?" My ears tilted in confusion.

Omega pointed to his chest. "I... I am not."

"Well of course. You're a robot. Robots can't get tired-"

"Indeed, Shadow." Omega's head revolved forward. He looked miles away as he stared on past the baseball field, the smoking pit of the pitcher's mound and the flaming grass. "Robots are..." A sonorous growl came from him.

"Are what?"

My blood curdled slightly with Omega's next word. "Soulless."

"Well what made you think that foolish thought?" I asked, though a little harshly. I didn't intend for my tone to be so rough. He took it worse than I imagined.

"Foolish? I am thinking rationally, Shadow. During my travels with you and Rouge, I have been reviewing the surplus of questions that have been ingrained in my central processing. I have observed Rouge and her... fondness towards you."

My brows furrowed. "Fondness?" Maybe that was why Rouge enjoyed cuddling on cold nights...

"Affirmative." Omega barked. He slumped over his iron knees. "I feel excluded from my team. From my friends. Beings with souls can interact in a manner that robots cannot."

"Wait a minute. What are you going on about?" He was starting to bewilder me.

He clanked, the truth spilling out. "Living things breathe. They can sleep, they can eat, and they can bleed." He looked into his hands, which were polished a fine silver. His fingers slowly bent till they formed tight fists. "Living things can feel emotions. Living things have souls."

"Omega-"

"I cannot feel pain, nor can I tire. I do not know the taste of any kind of nourishment besides crude fuels. I cannot express those wondrous visions you and Rouge call dreams. I cannot know what the meaning of affection is, despite the definition I have in my circuits." Omega turned on me in an instant, making my heart skip. "I am _soulless."_

I scowled. "Why such an abrupt interest in this subject, dare I ask, Omega?"

The rising indignation in him faded as quickly as it came on back to sorrow. "I envy you."

I can honestly say I never expected to hear that come from this proud, unbeatable robot.

My throat was dry. "Y-you _what?"_

He didn't respond as another voice carried over the hills. "Yoohoo, Shadow! Omega! I've got lunch!"

He stood in a fluid motion, already striding away. "We should meet her for midday meal. I suggest you follow, Shadow the Hedgehog." He had regained his typical monotone voice, but his depression tinged his sentences.

Over in the distance, a small white figure waving her hand beckoned to us. I noticed she was carrying a large box. Rouge hollered, "C'mon guys! Let's eat before this pizza gets cold!"

Fighting back the urge to interrogate Omega for his abnormal feelings, I leapt to my feet and went after him. I definitely had some things to unravel, and plenty of time to do it as well. What had happened to him? He was... different. I had to find out why.

His erratic behavior now was nothing compared to what I would witness in the future, however.

I met Rouge with her hands on her hips, humbly waiting with Omega standing stiffly by her side. She held up the pizza box. "Got your favorite." Her voice was smooth and lovely as she quickly winked, her eyes like twinkling peridots. "You still like pepperoni?"

I feebly smiled at her. "Yeah."

She made us sit down on an area of grass that hadn't been charred, a distance away from the aftermath of our duel. Slipping the box open, the intoxicating aroma of pizza wafted out pleasantly, and Rouge reached in to pull out a gooey, cheesy slice for me. "Hope you're hungry. I had to charm that glassy-eyed teenager at the register to get this baby." She held out the slice for me to take. I didn't grab it immediately.

Omega's glance was weak. "You enticed that young man into a romantic stupor?"

Rouge giggled, handing me my slice and getting one for herself. "You betcha. It's a girl thing, Omega, you wouldn't understand." She raised the delicious pizza tip to her mouth.

He shivered. "That is another thing I do not understand, then."

Rouge paused. "Huh?"

She and I stared at Omega, whose processing emitted jammed noises. I could almost sense his gloom. My mind raced to the realization that he was expressing raw emotion. Had Rouge noticed?

He was upright after a few moments of stillness. "If I may be excused."

We watched him plod away, knuckles nearly dragging on the ground. Omega vanished from our line of sight as he passed over a small hill in silence. For a minute, nothing stirred but the grass as it swayed in the passing gale.

Rouge blinked. "What's with him?"

I heavily sighed. "I'm not entirely sure of that..."

She studied me broodingly, setting her lunch back into the steaming box. "Did something happen?"

I shrugged and tapped my metal shoe with a finger. "Mm..." For some reason, I felt as if I shouldn't discuss with her what Omega had told me. It didn't seem right to expound on his troubles, for he was one of my closest friends. I decided to keep my mouth shut. I felt like I could not trust Rouge, yet... she was my friend too. My conscience was in shambles.

I was grateful when she changed the subject. Though a persistent treasure hunter, she knew when she was crossing boundaries. "So... who won the fight?"

A ghostly smile threatened my lips. "Omega."

After chomping the end of her pizza, Rouge gaped. "He did? But you always win! How'd that happen?" She chewed her food while waiting for my response.

"I got a little carried away with my energy, and depleted it too soon." I took a bite of the cheesy pizza, the exquisite flavor boosting my spirit slightly. "He was lucky I went overboard, or I would have won hands down." Before I knew it, I was halfway through my food, jaw working on a large, thick pepperoni laid in the bite. I swallowed. "Hey, thanks for lunch, Rouge. I needed it."

She raised her brows in disbelief. "Wow. All right, don't mention it." Her cheeks flushed pink, and she averted her eyes by focusing on the shine in her boots. For five minutes, the two of us ate slice after slice till we had consumed the entire pizza. We hadn't thought of carrying anything to store leftover food in, so once we bought something, we had to finish it the day we got it. At least we never starved.

I tossed the empty cardboard box into a lonely trash can, licking a speck of sauce from my thumb. Rouge stretched and sighed whilst sitting, fiddling with her short, ivory hair. "I haven't gotten my hands on a decent brush since Metal Madness. My hair is a wreck!" She combed it with her fingers, catching a few knots.

Chuckling, I stood beside her and crossed my arms. I wasn't much of a help when Rouge complained about feminine stresses, so instead of accidentally offending her, I took in the sight of the rolling hills and fresh air. The occasional whiff of smoke blew around, but the majority of the gusts were sweet. It was nice to take a break from brutal fights and the tensions of life. This place was soothing.

Rouge stopped grooming and twisted her head around, ears flicking wildly. "Do you hear that?"

I watched her. "Hear what?"

"I think someone's calling for us..." She stood and listened harder. "I don't know the voice though..." She pointed over the hill that Omega had retreated from. "It's coming from there."

A pit of unease was developing in my gut at her news. I grabbed her by the wing and towed her behind me as I broke into a brisk stride. "Come on. We gotta check this out."

She struggled to maintain her balance, but eventually regained her footing and ran alongside me, her wings tucked securely on her back. "Hm..." She pursed her lips in concern.

We climbed the hill, suspicions rising. Reaching the domed top, we caught sight of Omega at the bottom of the grassy, shallow incline. He was marching about with his arms at odd angles and his head and torso swirling in a maelstrom. The lights of his eyes and feet flashed on and off and he bellowed loudly in an unknown voice. It was clearly organic, male, and strained with horror. As we descended the hill, we heard the remainder of the speech that was radiating from Omega's stomping body.

"-mega, Shadow, Rouge! The Monarch has overthrown the city of Manika! All acts to uproot his plots have been pulverized. It is unclear what will become of us now..." He audibly swallowed as Omega continued to thrash. "Please! If you can receive this transmission, come to Windchine Island posthaste! We don't have much time till the Monarch takes us all under his grip! I beg of you! He is com-" Maniac laughter came subsequent.

Omega collapsed with a mighty thump as the transmission failed, and nothing but fuzzy static sounded.

Rouge and I immediately darted to the robot as he buzzed on the ground. His eyes were glistering a rainbow of colors and his fingers jerked as if he were typing on a keyboard. Before we could figure out what had happened, he abruptly sat upright and stated: "Vocal Emitters stabilized." His voice had returned to his unvaried drone.

"Omega? What was that all about?" Rouge exclaimed.

He faced her. "Someone must have hacked into my central processing and channeled a radio signal into my Vocal Emitters." He tapped his claws on his chest. "Inform me, what was I blurting?"

"Something about a Monarch taking over Manika City on Windchine Island," I replied. The man's words haunted me. _We don't have much time... _"It sounded crucial."

Omega looked at his feet. "It was-"

"A distress signal." Rouge finished, her eyes clouded with consideration. "He wanted _us _to answer it..." She slowly smiled. "You think we should? I mean, isn't that what that Sonic or whatever said? We're heroes."

"I guess." I mumbled. I didn't like that blue hedgehog a single bit. His similarity to me was uncanny. The arrogance... and his voice grated down my very sanity. I should've knocked a fist to his face when we clashed in Frog Forest, but for reasons unbeknownst to me, I held back. Although, Chaos Inferno wasn't a bad punishment either. I internally smirked.

"Liberating the people of Manika would be the ethical thing to do," Omega said, heaving himself off the ground. Adjusting his joints back into their natural positions, he continued. "It would be wise to obey that man's implore."

Rouge's tail quivered. "Hm... We're gonna need a boat to get to Windchine. Where's the nearest ocean?"

"If I remember my geography, we should be a solid 30 miles from the coast of the Emerald Sea," I replied, imagining the map I had seen when we blew into the nearby town. "The place is teeming with tourists. There's no doubt we'll find some boats there too."

She grinned. "Sounds like a plan, then. You two ready?" Her wings stretched.

Omega nodded subtly, glancing around to find his bearings. "The Emerald Bay is this way." He pointed in the direction and waited for us to begin walking. "If we advance at a slothful pace, we will arrive at the bay in approximately two hours. If we run, we may cut the time in half. Possibly a third."

I groaned. "You both know how I hate going slow, and we wouldn't want to keep those people waiting, anyway. Should we run?"

Rouge and Omega agreed. "Lead the way, Shadow." She took her place after me. Omega stepped behind her.

"Take us to the bay. If you require any assistance, please let me know." He seemed calm, but I swore I could hear the weary edge to his tone. I hoped his dreary attitude didn't ruin the mission.

Pushing the thought away, I lit up my shoes. "Let's go!"

I set off down the hills swiftly, with Rouge and Omega in pursuit of my steps. It felt good to be flying on land again, to have the wind in my hair and the world race by in a blur. This call would be memorable, I could tell...

...yet I failed to realize _how _memorable.

* * *

"Augh, how anyone can keep their personal space bubble from bursting in this claustrophobic place is beyond me!" Rouge groused and shoved people carelessly out of her way. "I've already had my toe stepped on, like, six times!"

I weaved between the throng of Mobians crowding the streets of Emerald Bay. "Well, tourists are drawn here like a magnet, Rouge. It's not really a surprise." I responded, eluding being crushed between two brutish looking men.

She bore her teeth. "I hate this place already. Can we find a stupid boat so we can get to that island?"

Omega's large body easily spread a clear path before him as he stalked undisturbed in the road. He caught many wide stares. "Have patience, Rouge. Good things come to those who wait."

_"Will you get outta my way?" _Rouge hollered to a random couple. "Ugh! Y'know what, Omega? Shut up! I don't want nor need any preaching from you." She pushed her way to my side, walking close to me.

I wasn't sure if Omega's shoulders shaking signified he was laughing, but I was positive he was amused. "Affirmative, Rouge."

"Hmph!"

I snorted. "You're starting to sound like me."

She rolled her eyes towards the heavens. "You can shut your trap too, Shadow. Grr..."

Thought the streets were suffocating, Emerald Bay was a paradise. I had never been here before, and was utterly shocked to find that the waters of the Emerald Sea were in all honesty _green. _Glamorous yachts cruised in them, leisure surfers rode some tall waves, and the salty ocean breeze was cleansing to soul. The smell of various perfumes from the women, scrumptious battered fish, and the tartness of fruit drinks filled the air. The high afternoon sun shone its glory on the tides, making the very sky seem a broad turquoise. It was easy to see the beauty that attracted the herds of people that flocked to Emerald Bay.

Eventually, Team Dark squeezed through the populated alleys and onto the docks, where there was plenty of elbow room. Rouge sighed and unfurled her wings again, her bones popping from being so tightly clenched together. "I can breathe again!"

Omega stared out to sea in a deep longing. As I watched him stand upon the bleached boards of the docks, concern came over me. I felt like his unhappiness was my fault. Swallowing my pride, I approached.

"Are you still... you know...?"

He turned slightly. "I know what?"

I took in a breath, but nothing came out but a small croak. I had never really comforted someone before, so I was completely in the dark of how to reassure Omega. "Er..." I scratched my head.

The mesmerizing reflection of emerald on his shiny surface boggled me to the point that I just gazed at him, transfixed in a loss of words. His fist tightened. "Do not discourage yourself, Shadow. I am the ultimate robot." He looked forward. "I must overcome these... emotions... on my own."

My voice only came back a touch. "But-"

"Never forget this. I work alone."

With that established, Omega turned away and clanked down the docks. Rouge appeared at my side, arms behind her head as she stretched for the last time. Maybe she hadn't heard our short conversation. "Ready to go scout out a boat?"

I sighed, ears flopping onto my head. "Guess so."

"Well stop fretting then, and let's get going." She started walking, waving her hand for me to follow. With a grunt, I went after her.

Team Dark patrolled the docks for any seaworthy craft that would take us to Windchine Isle. Rouge inspected nearly every runabout, trawler, performance boat, and jet boat we spotted, exchanging information with Omega about each of their stats. I apathetically brought up the rear behind them, huffing in boredom. If searching for a boat was this unexciting, I wasn't looking forward to the journey over to Windchine.

Halfway through our scouring, I spotted two machines that caught my eye. "Hey, hold up a second," I said and stopped, facing the pair of waveriders that bobbed invitingly on the water. They were sleek and painted electric blue, streaked with black lightning bolts on the sides. I smiled because they appeared expensive. "Will these work?"

Rouge's eyes beamed brightly. "Ooh, I like those!"

Omega leaned forward and scrutinized them. "They are owned by another person. Are you suggesting we steal them?"

I nodded cruelly. "Nobody's using them, aren't they? Why leave a perfectly good pair of waveriders tied to the docks, when you can put them to good use? _Our_ use?"

Rouge giggled. "You guys wanna steal them? 'Cause I'm an expert at theft."

I exchanged positive glances with both of them, growing eager. "Let's steal us some waveriders."

"I've got just the plan to do it, too..." Rouge looked around inconspicuously, making certain that nobody was watching us too closely. "All right. I'll create a diversion and distract those two cops that are coming this way. You two jump on a waverider and take off. As soon as you're a good distance from the docks, I'll fly over, got it?"

Omega's eyes zoomed in on the machines. "These waveriders must have keys to operate."

"Who cares. You're an expert with tech, can't you hardwire them without the keys or something?"

He considered for a few moments. "Indeed I can. Let us proceed with the plan."

Omega and I took our places by the dockside, standing silently and awaiting Rouge's diversion. She had bought herself a sunhat to conceal her face. Waltzing over to the police officers that strolled leisurely down the dock, she struck up a conversation. I watched as she distracted them in an upbeat manner.

"Good afternoon, officers. Beautiful day isn't it? This sun is positively divine!"

"Oh yes, miss. Emerald Bay gets some of the best sunshine on Mobius," one of them replied. "We were just on our way to go catch some rays on the beach."

"You don't say? Make sure to get plenty of sunblock on way. We wouldn't want that perfectly tanned skin to get burned, now would we?" Rouge was positively gnarly when it came to tempting guys with her voice.

Their chat continued on as Rouge went into skin care and the science of UV rays. The officers listened enthusiastically, thrilled at each word that she uttered. I heard her laugh many times, which signaled that she was probably flirting with the guys.

Omega yanked me towards the waveriders. "Cease daydreaming, Shadow, we must alter the mechanics of these immediately."

"Yeah, sure, whatever," I stammered, kneeling with him as he popped open a smooth hatch on the handle of the rider. "Did you need my help?"

"Negative. I can handle this."

He began cutting wires to and fro inside the waverider, precisely snipping and reattaching them to others. There was an abundance of sparking and fizzing as he worked, hands a silver blur. Once everything seemed appropriate for him, he closed the hatch and tapped the rider twice. It revved to life with a purr.

"Wow, Omega. That was impressive. It took you no time at all!" I stroked the handle and gawked.

His tone was cheery. "Thank you. My knowledge with hardwiring technology is vast." He began on the next rider when a scream rang from the crowds. We both looked back.

"Those goons are tampering our waveriders!" A mongoose woman was pointing at us, gripping the material of her husband's shirt tightly in her hand. He ogled down at the key ring he held and glared.

"Get away from those, you saboteurs!" He hollered. When we did not move, he began stomping over to us.

"Go Omega, go!" His fingers race around the wires furiously. I sprung over to the already wired waverider, jerking my head and waving my arm towards Rouge, who had heard the commotion. "C'mon!" Unluckily for us, the police officers did too.

"Hey! Stop!" They shouted, unsheathing a pair of clubs and thundering our way on the docks. Now there were four people after us.

Rouge threw her hat to the ground and leapt in the air, flapping her wings and soaring above the crowds and in our direction. "Don't wait for me, just go!"

Omega slapped the hatch of the other rider shut, flying to his feet. "Finished!"

"Hurry, let's get outta here!" I hit the gas on the waverider as he boarded the other and pushed the speed to maximum. We both shot from the dock with walls of green water surrounding us on either side.

I looked over my shoulder to find Rouge beating her way as fast as possible to catch up with us. Behind her, the two cops jumped onto another set of waveriders, frantically searching for keys. "THIEVES, THIEVES!" The owners of the stolen riders cried.

Just when the cops had retrieved the keys from a small box, Omega swiveled backward and aimed his arm at them. His hand disappeared and was replaced by a massive rocket launcher. I watched as a fresh rocket was loaded into the barrel, fireballs etched in the slick bronze. "Fire." His arm snapped skyward and a trail of smoke billowed in the wake of the miniature missile. It careened for one of the officer's waveriders before he spotted it and dove into the water.

Rouge barely dodged it as it flew by her foot. "Whoa!"

A fiery explosion climbed into the sky after the rocket's impact, sending dozens of Emerald Bay goers to flee. The other officer and the fuming owners were flabbergasted as Omega locked and loaded another rocket. "Fire." He blew up the other opposing waverider, which was barely missed by the other officer, yelping in terror.

The black, smoking remains of two waveriders floated by the dockside, and the eyes of many people watched Team Dark as we skidded across the waves in triumph.

"Oh yeah, Omega! _That_ is how it's done!" I shouted happily. Waving a fist at him, I grinned widely. "Nobody stops E-123 Omega!"

He proudly accepted my praise. "Nobody! Nobody! I am unconquerable!" He pulled up on the rider's handle and tossed the contraption into the air in a flip, while still onboard. He landed back on the waves in a splash.

A soft jolt from the back of my rider made me look back. Rouge had landed, and had taken her seat behind me. "That was the coolest thing I've ever seen. You rock, Omega!"

He was thrilled. "Thank you very much, Rouge. I appreciate your tributes."

"So," I called as we rode the shimmering Emerald Sea. "Which way to Windchine Island?"

Omega gestured forward. "This way. We should arrive in about twenty minutes."

"Twenty minutes? In that case, I'd better hold on." Rouge scooted closer to me and wrapped her arms around my waist, nestling herself on my back. I felt her sigh. She was warm.

I gripped the steering tighter. "Manika City, here I come."

**Hope you liked it as much as I did writing it! By the way, any of you catch my Sonic Battle references? XD**

** See you next chapter for Team Rose!**


	3. Strangers on the Line

**Hello, my fans! Welcome to Chapter 3 of **_**Whispers of Manika City. **_**I ever so apologize for the delay in this chapter. For some reason, I have a difficult time writing from a female perspective, and struggled to capture Amy to the greatest and most exact extent, seeing as she narrates this chapter. **

** Also, this one is a tad shorter than the previous two, as Team Rose missions are shorter in the game too. XD Ironic! And please pardon my errors as well!**

** But, without further ado, it's finished! Chapter 3! **

** I hope you like it. :) Please review, it really helps me along! :D I love you guys!**

** Enjoy, and I would appreciate feedback!**

"Ah, this is the life," I breezily sighed to myself as I reclined on a beach chair. Mr. Big's umbrella was propped above me. "Just me, the Emerald Coast, and when Big comes back, a cool, peach mango crème smoothie." I had been laying on this beach for about an hour, soaking up the sun and easing my tensions. It seemed I had no cares in the world; like my whole life revolved around lazing about on this strip of sand. But then...

Butterflies fluttered in my stomach. I tried to push them away, and forget, but I couldn't stand not seeing him a second longer!

I threw my sunglasses above my eyes and hurriedly flipped open my new chrome pink cell phone. My gaze flickered briefly on the time (11:54), for I was more focused on the wallpaper that I had.

"Sonic..."

The delicious blue hedgehog's grin was youthful and shiny white. He was holding two fingers up at the camera and winking one of his brilliant green eyes. I was next to him, my cheeks as red as roses, with one of his arms draped over my shoulders. We were cuddled together rather close.

After I finally caught him on the airship once we beat that Metal Sonic guy, I'd insisted that instead of running away, he'd take a picture of me with him. Lucky for me he said yes, and we had Tails take the pic for us. But once the camera clicked, Sonic let me go and sped away, and I hadn't seen him for a solid month.

My skin tingled as I gazed into the pixels of his eyes, and my fingers itched to run through his soft fur. I sniffled.

I'll never forget his smell... The _Sonic_ smell...

The smell of a million gusts of tasty wind on his fur, and the freshness of cologne; the indulging odor that Sonic the Hedgehog just _had. _It was like a natural, yet good, stink. It had been burning in my nostrils for weeks, and I could _not_ get rid of it.

This has been the longest month of my entire life!

Cream had noticed my depression as we visited towns and cities on vacation. She told me I was suffering from separation anxiety.

The more I thought about it, she was right. I really, really missed Sonic. To the point where I had fleeting dreams of him at night that would eat at me in the morning. The color blue was ingrained in my eyelids. Even the glossy ruby of my two piece swimsuit couldn't wash the color out.

To help me, Cream and Mr. Big took me to the Emerald Coast, where we were currently relaxing. My view needed to be a little less blue, and they figured the green sea would help me in that section.

It wasn't really working.

"Amy!" someone beckoned, pulling me from my reveries.

I blinked and looked for the source of the shout. It was towards the shoreline, where Cream hopped up and down to get my attention. The floppy ears on top of her head bounced in the movement. Her Chao, Chocola and Cheese, were struggling to tote an orange, plastic bucket that was as large as they were.

I waved to her. "Hey, Cream!"

The little rabbit skipped over to me. She wore the cutest swimsuit. It was a yellow one piece that hugged her petite body, whose straps were decorated in daisies. A small red tutu wrapped around her waste, which was rimmed with pink. I smiled at how adorable the six year old was as she approached.

Cream came over and looked at me with her rich, inquisitive amber eyes. Placing her hands behind her back, she rocked on her feet and wiggled her short, puffy tail. "Amy, will you build a sandcastle with me, please?" Her voice was as soft as the finest silk. "Cheese and Chocola have been asking me all afternoon for you to."

I smiled sweetly. I could never say no to her. "Sure! I'd love to make a sandcastle!"

Her eyes twinkled. "Really? Come on!"

I stood up and tucked my phone and sunglasses into our beach bag, which held all our clothes, sunscreen, and rings. Cream took my wrist and towed me behind her towards the shore, where her twin Chao cheered squeakily at our approach. We both knelt on the squishy sand.

"Here's your shovel, Amy," Cream said, handing me a small, plastic spade. She grabbed another of her own and began scooping. The Chao tipped the bucket mouth upward for us to fill it, and each of them gathered small armloads of sand. I started digging.

After a few moments, Cream piped up. "I want to make a really big one! It'll be Cheese and Chocola's beach castle," she said ecstatically, envisioning the sand masterpiece. "We'll be the kings and queens of the Emerald Coast once it's done."

I nodded and laughed. "Then let's get working! We've got a lot of sand to use!"

"Okay!"

We both dug quickly, excited to get the castle finished. Scooping five or so shovelfuls into the bucket each, it was brimming with moist white sand in no time. Cream then set down her spade and patted the top of the bucket firm, her lips curved in a merry smile.

She held both sides of the bucket and flipped it over onto the sand we hadn't bothered. Cheese and Chocola hovered around her hands with big stares. She stuck out her tongue and squinted, sliding the bucket up slowly. It left a perfect, compact, bucket-shaped mound on the beach once it was free.

"Wow, I did it!" she exclaimed in awe.

Chocola and Cheese brightened. "Chao, chao!"

"Nice job, Cream!" I whooped, holding up my sand-caked shovel. "Let's make another!" I pushed it into the ground and dumped a shovelful into the bucket. I grinned and went back for another, inviting Cream to do so too.

So over the next little while, Cream, Cheese, Chocola, and I scooped several buckets of sand and put together a huge, glorious castle. It had two stories, three towers, four balconies, a moat, and even a pair of seaweed gardens. We had carved in lots of windows on the sides with a broken, plastic knife we had dug up. Cream was on cloud nine as she darted down the shoreline in search of decorations. Her Chao floated on after her as she scavenged the coast.

I sat back and dusted my knees off. The wind blew my hair around my face and the lapping of the Emerald Sea was perfect for unwinding. The day was pleasantly warm and the beach was buzzing with people on holiday. I sighed at the speck of land in the distance, my mind drifting in a sea of questions.

_I wonder if Sonic's out there?_

_ What's he doing right now?_

_ Is he thinking of me?_

_ Does me miss me as much as I miss him?_

I could only pray that he did as I dug my heel frustratedly into the ground. What more could a girl do to let the guy she loved know _how_ much she loved him? I couldn't do much now, since I was stuck here with Cream and Big watching me; making sure I didn't sprint off into the sunset on the hunt for my dearest blue blur.

The monotony was killing me.

I pried my eyes from the yonder and back to our sandcastle. It seemed a little... boring. To spruce it up a bit, I picked up a sand crusted twig and stuck it in the top spire, afterwards grabbing a ribbon to tie on the end. I smiled at the tiny, makeshift flag proudly billowing. The pink ribbon lifted my lovesick spirits.

A thought then occurred to me as I scanned the horizon of churning green waves and fluffy white clouds.

Wouldn't this beach be perfect for a wedding?

I slumped into the sand on my back, slapping my hands over my eyes and grinding my teeth irritation. _Auggh, it's just one step forward, and two steps back for his heartbroken hedgehog! OH, SONIC, WHERE ARE YOU?_

"Amy, are you all right?"

The soft voice snatched me away from my internal, infatuated conflict. I huffed a sigh and dreadfully sat up, finding Cream a few steps away, with her eyes clouded in concern. In her hands was a pile of shattered seashells and corals of all the colors of rainbow. Her Chao carried a few of the bits as well.

I groaned. "I'm fine. Just... unhappy." I curled my knees close to my chest and buried my toes into the sand with lips pursed. "It's so unfair that he can runas fast as the light, and... and... _vanish_ like the ghosts at Hang Castle..."

She pouted her lip and released the load of shells by my ankles. "Is this about mister Sonic?" I nodded miserably. "Oh, don't fret, Amy. He'll come around, you know. He always does." Her gentle hand appeared on my shoulder.

"But when, Cream? _When? _How does he do it? How does he manage to stay away from me for that long? I mean, I'm always so focused! I always know where Mr. Big is!"

She smiled quietly. "Well, Mr. Big isn't so easy to lose sight of Amy. That's why we call him Big."

I giggled a little. "Yeah." We both started to giggle, and eventually we broke into sunny laughter. Cream always knew how to cheer me up, it was one of her amazing qualities that made her my very best friend.

Once we stopped laughing, I gave her a huge hug. "Thanks, Cream. That's the first time I've laughed in a while."

The small rabbit squeezed me tightly, her vanilla-like smell soothing me. "You're very welcome. I love to hear your laugh. It's so pretty."

I pulled away and gazed at her in wonder. "Pretty? I think I sound like a backfiring car when I laugh! It's embarrassing!"

She shook her head. "Not to me! Your laugh sounds like the whistling bell flowers I had in one of my gardens once- positively gorgeous." Cream's eyes glinted. "The species I grew were pink, like you!"

I blushed. "Wow, cool!" We exchanged grateful smiles. "Hey, what do you say we finish this beach castle?" I picked up a vibrant silver shell shard and flashed it.

Cream nodded. "Let's do it! I collected only the most beautiful and shiny shells I could find. This will be the best sandcastle ever built!"

The four of us took our own piles of sparkling pieces of marine shells and covered all sides of the castle with them. Pretty soon, the thing was shining all sorts of colors, and people around us were curiously watching. Cheese and Chocola celebrated with a Chao dance, which I recognized to be one of the many dances taught at the Chao Kindergarten. Then the two of them started singing a Chao chorus; high-pitched, but extremely cute.

I remembered my magenta angel Chao, Passion, who was probably chilling out in the Angel Garden about now. I hadn't seen her since I'd mistaken Shadow for Sonic on Prison Island. I missed her glowing green eyes and the cuddling we used to share.

Anyway, Cream sprung up and grabbed her digital camera. She took pictures of all of us posing by our masterpiece. Chocola and Cheese were glad to be full body models, but since I was much taller than them, I mostly had to lay down or suffice for my head in the shot. Either way, I enjoyed myself.

I sat down next to Cream as she swapped through photos, Chocola and Cheese squeezing their heads between ours to get a good view. The majority of the pics were silly, and a variety of color from the shells encrusting the sides of the castle. One of them had Cheese standing on a balcony with a tropical flower in his arm. Another one had Chocola sitting in the seaweed gardens, adjusting his blue bow tie with a goofy look on his face. In the pictures where I debuted, I simply pulled a random expression.

"These will be my prized memories!" Cream exclaimed joyfully, turning off her camera and pulling the leather loop of it over her head. "I will cherish these forever!"

Suddenly a pair of feet smashed into the sandcastle's foundation, and it all crumbled to the ground. The seashells were buried beneath the ruins and all our decorations had been squashed. Cream jumped and her ears sagged. _"Aww..."_

"Oops, sorry..." Said the deep, tender voice of Big the Cat.

We both looked up at him in his lime green swim trunks printed with white frogs. In his large hands he carried three coconuts, which were cut in half, with straws and miniature umbrellas sticking out of them. His trusty pal Froggy rode on his wide shoulder.

He frowned and held one of the coconuts down to Cream as her bottom lip slowly emerged into a pout. "Will this make you feel good, cute rabbit? I got raspberry banana crème special for you."

She glanced at him, her sadness melting away. "Raspberry banana? How'd you know that was my favorite smoothie, Mr. Big?"

He chuckled. _"Huhuhu. _Because you're my friend. I never ever forget my friend's favorite smoothie flavors."

Froggy _sproinged _(that's the sound he makes when he hops) down Big's arm and by Cream's face, licking her with his sticky tongue. She giggled and patted him on the head, accepting Big's offering of the smoothie. "Thank you, Big." After taking a sip, she smiled. "And yes, it _does _make me feel good! Hah hah!" They both laughed.

Big reached over her and handed me mine. "Do you still like peach mango crème, Amy?"

I nodded twice. "You know the works, Big!" He beamed broadly and sat himself down beside us, letting Froggy bounce onto his sandal-wearing foot to take licks of his owner's smoothie. The little frog was clearly adoring whatever he was tasting. "What flavor did you get?" I asked.

Big pointed to the coconut. "Strawberry orange crème. It is expensive, but I always get it."

"Froggy sure likes it."

He nodded. "I get it because we both love the taste."

I sucked up my peach mango smoothie through the straw indulgently. It was totally delicious! I could tell that Team Rose was satisfied with the drinks as we sat in a triangle, all silently slurping. What I'd murmured to myself about laying down in the shade was most definitely nothing compared to sitting with my team.

Yet... this would be the last time in a long time we would all be this content.

About halfway through my drink, a shadow drifted over me. I looked back and saw a silhouetted form against the sun, their fists on their hips. Whoever it was was tall, with a scrawny tail and large ears.

"Hey, you're Amy Rose, right?"

I stood uneasily and came face to face with a tan, sporty lynx guy. His chest was sculpted to perfection in pure muscle, as were his legs and arms. I gulped and felt my stomach drop. I'll probably kill myself later for saying this, but, he was _hot! _

"Uh... y-yeah, that's me," I stuttered.

He studied me with a pair of bold maroon eyes, smiling handsomely. "I'd know that lovely pink head anywhere! You were all over the news for quite some time, you little darling." He spoke with an accent I was unfamiliar with.

I smiled awkwardly. "I was?"

"Oh yes. The cameras couldn't get enough of that adorable face of yours, Amy. While all that robotic chaos reigned about, the reports were simply zeroed in on your visage."

Holy Chao, this guy was a smooth talker. I found my cheeks hot and my heart beating like it did after I chased Sonic for miles as I listened to his alluring voice. I couldn't pry my eyes off his. "Thank you."

He grinned, which was even more stunning. "Walang anuman, miss." He muttered something I couldn't understand, giving me a slight bow. "I see you are flushing. Am I more attractive than him?"

My ears twitched, and I felt a rushing feeling stop abruptly in my chest. "Than who?"

He looked around, as if it were obvious. "Than that run-of-the-mill Sonic?"

It was then that all the whirling feelings I'd felt for the guy flew off the face of Mobius, and I snapped and bore my teeth in a furious snarl. _"WHAT?" _My knuckles cracked around my coconut as I clenched it near breaking. He seemed to shrink and lose the color in his face.

"Did I say something, Amy?"

_"Heck, yeah! Some nerve you got! How dare you insult that perfect hedgehog, you thickheaded wannabe!" _I violently slammed him on the head with the bottom of my coconut, which proceeded to shatter into wedges. The straw and umbrella snapped in two. My smoothie dripped all over his noggin as he collapsed to the sand, unconscious and drooling. I shook a fist at his limp form and stomped my feet. _"Nobody disses _my_ future husband!"_

Well, that conversation was one of my shortest.

As my breathing calmed, I heard Big and Cream snickering behind me. I shifted my stance and found them covering their mouths, trying to hide their chortles. Even the Chao were sniggering.

"What's so funny?" I inquired, releasing my leftover steam by mildly glaring.

"That's the Amy I know!" Cream giggled. "Feisty in defending her loved one!"

Big guffawed. "Way to go! Way to teach that mean boy a lesson on being nice to Sonic!"

I smirked and kicked sand in the forming bruise on the lynx guy's head. "Ha! Showed that dolt how to properly treat that flawless hedgehog!" I strolled back to my team, sitting proudly. "Boys are so stupid!" I cried. "Excluding Sonic, of course."

Cream smiled. "If you say so, Amy."

"And me too!" Big piped.

I wasn't sure what he meant -and I never got to ask- because right then my ringtone began blaring. The chorus of 'Follow Me' rang out from the beach bag, the bright, small square of the phone's screen shining through the material. I excused myself from Mr. Big, Cream, Froggy, Chocola, and Cheese, and darted over to answer the call.

Digging through the jumbles of clothes and Big's belt, I retrieved it and looked at the caller ID. The only problem was there _wasn't_ any caller ID. Feeling a bit nervous, I flipped the phone open and raised it to my ear.

"Hello?"

"Amy! Thank goodness you're there!" The voice on the other end was female, with a slight gravel and utter hysterical terror. "I thought I wouldn't reach you in time!" She sounded like she was sobbing.

"Uh... who is this?" I covered my other ear from the noise of the beach, turning away from the shore and tapping the leg of the beach chair as I stood beneath the shade. "And how'd you get my number?"

"No questions- that's not important right now! What matters is, I need your help. Desperately! There is something horrible underway in the city of Manika! We are in dire danger and require as much assistance as possible from any, if all, of the heroic teams that answer this call!"

"W-what?"

"There's no time to explain further, Amy Rose! Just listen to me! The Monarch has taken over Manika City, he is taking us all under his dark grip! There is no way out of his rule! We _need you._ Please, come to Windchine Island, in the Emerald Sea, this isn't a joke! I'm telling you-"

A harsh explosion blasted from the speaker, washing her voice away. Screams shot from it and I cringed to avoid going deaf. A wave of grinding and gushing came afterward, which made my spine tingle. I heard the garbled wail of the girl on the other line as she cried in absolute fright at something.

Just before the connection went dead, it all went silent, and then two words from a man:

"Come if you _dare!"_

The sugary sweet taste of my smoothie became sour on my tongue as I stood awestricken, my blood run cold. The sunshine around me appeared to darken and the playful summer afternoon bleak. I dropped the phone, my fingers shaking.

Grainy footsteps sounded towards me. "Amy! What was that?" Cream worried.

"Did something happen?" Big said.

I turned to them. "We need to go to Windchine Island. _Now." _I bent down and picked up the bag, swinging it hastily over my shoulder.

The rabbit and cat exchanged looks of puzzlement. "Why the rush?" Big asked.

I took a deep breath and wiped away some sweat beneath my bangs. "I just got a really urgent distress call from some girl in Manika City. There's something bad going on there, I just feel it." The two of them listened closely, as did their Chao. "We can't waste any more time. This Monarch guy that's taken over, he's _so_ evil! I even heard him tell me, to come if I dared," I looked them both in the eye. "And I dare. We have to go!"

Cream planted her feet firmly into the sand, a determined look frozen on her little face. "If you feel the need to go and save those people, Amy, then we're coming with you."

Big nodded. "Yeah. Friends stick together."

I smiled at them, and threw their clothes into their arms. "All right then, let's go to Manika!"

"Right!"

"Okie dokie!"

So, once we were dressed into our regular clothes, Team Rose spread out a map to get to Windchine Island. Lucky for us, it was the small strip of island I'd seen while gazing into the ocean some time before. We were ready for adventure, and ready to take on some bad guys.

But... _un_luckily for us, we had no way of getting there.

We spent the next five minutes in search of some means of transportation. Cream suggested a boat, except I had no idea of where we could get one. I thought of an aircraft, but that posed the same problem.

Finally, Big spoke up.

"Swim," he said blankly, pointing seaward.

"You're kidding, right? I can't swim that far!" I complained. "What about currents, and sea creatures and stuff?"

"I can't swim!" Cream cried.

He shook his head. "I can do it." With a single pull of his belt, he was back in his swim trunks. His belt had magically inflated into a yellow and orange striped life preserver. He lifted Cream and I onto his shoulders and unsheathed his mighty...

Fishing pole?

"You're gonna use a _fishing pole_ to get us to Windchine?" I asked, quite unconvinced that this was going to work. "How will that help?"

"Floaties, Amy!" Big happily informed. I was surprised when the rubber ends of the fishing pole were inflated as well. They appeared to be enormous beach balls.

I sighed and held onto his ear. Big wasn't the smartest cat. "Let's go. I guess you know what you're doing, right? You're a fisher." Froggy ribbitted excitedly, lounging in my lap. He cuddled into my red dress. "Yeah. I can trust you." I stroked his bumpy back.

"Do your best, Big!" Cream encouraged, patting his furry face. "I believe in you, okay?" Chocola and Cheese nodded in unison.

"Okie dokie!" He exhaled and made sure we were comfortable.

And so Big set out towards the shoreline, his fishing pole tight in his fist, and his arms flexed. He walked straight through the roaring waves and began to swim through the green seawater, his face practically a stone cutout. Nothing hindered him. Not the spray of the tides, or the blinding sparkle of sunshine on the waves. Not even the intimidating distance between the Emerald Coast and Windchine Island bothered the guy.

Team Rose was dog paddling to the rescue!

** Hope you liked it. :) Yeah, I am nothing like Amy Rose, but I did my best.**

**The next chapter with Team Chaotix will be out before you know it! (Don't fret, this is only the beginning background info, I'll get into the juicy stuff soon!)**


	4. One Case Closed, Another Opened

**Hello, to anyone who is reading this story! I've been neglecting my poor account, and the urge to update this story has been nagging at me. I apologize for growing so lazy; my life is hectic. :( Please forgive me. I'll do my best to be more faithful at updating THIS story- Whispers of Manika City. It's a great one, with an awesome turn out, I don't know why I've been procrastinating. **

** Here's chapter 4, as promised a few months ago. (embarrassing!) It's from Vector's perspective, and centered around Team Chaotix. I'm rather fond of it, actually. It's witty, funny, and smooth. :) I hope any readers enjoy it as much as I had fun writing it. **

** Pardon any errors. Thank you.**

"Ugh, will those two hurry up? I'm starving here!" I grumbled aloud, leaning heavily back in my chair with my stomach rumbling uncontrollably. I'd been sitting here at my desk for an eternal hour, mindlessly watching the ceiling fan swirl and flipping through music tracks on my iPod.

When it came to picking up a fast lunch, Espio and Charmy were lousy. It'd been a lazy day at the Office, and the two of them were annoyingly anxious. It occurred to me that they could work their boredom out. Though I persuaded them to help me clean up a bit, neither of them listened. Charmy begged me endlessly to go and catch a flick while Espio apathetically flung his sharp ninja stars into the wall.

While I stared angrily at the swiss cheese-looking plaster, I commanded Charmy and Espio to go fetch something to eat and stop whining. The little bee was kinda mad that it wasn't a movie, but Espio dragged him out of the place, tail quivering in irritation. I hadn't seen or heard from them since.

I stared around the Office. Man, was it a dump. Even after the block month Team Chaotix had been here, it hadn't changed a single bit. The walls were still moldy and cracked, documents littered the floor, and the rusty locker's door in the corner was dangling from its last hinge. Outside in the cramped foyer, the potted plants we'd kept were brown and crispy. I fed each one every day, but only the soil drank the water.

_I still need to pay the water bill..._ I thought to myself, glancing to the Aqua Company notice on my desk, which sat beside the mug of broken pencils with the missing handle. I just watched the slip of paper, frowning.

I could pay the bill if I wanted to, I mean, we had plenty of money. Once we caught that eggheaded freak, we busted him of his loot and took off. Chaotix was relatively rich at the moment, and we were living it up. Charmy bought himself a brand new boom box, whose home was now the edge of my desk. Espio went and got a pricey SLR camera, which he prized and kept safe on a newly installed (by him) shelf. I thought it was kind of a gimcrack.

Though I had no clue why he was buying cameras, I didn't question him. After all, he showed me some of his pictures he took, and I had to admit, he wasn't that bad a photographer. Maybe his camera was for future crime photos?

Anyway, I would've hired a guy to come and spruce up the place, but I thought against it and bought some excellent headphones instead. They blotted out all outside noise once you put them on, and were a shiny black. Crank up the tunes to eleven and wear those babies- it's a rock concert inside your head!

I turned my eyes away from the Aqua Company paper and started to stack CD cases. We had millions of them, scattered here and there around the Office. I grabbed the few on the desk and placed them on top of each other, muttering the artists out loud.

"Crush 40... Gunnar Nelson... Julian-K...?" I made a face at the one I had just set down. "Since when do we have Kay Hanley?" I inspected the CD and found a message written in sloppy orange sharpie on its surface: 'CHARMY'S! DON'T TOUCH! MINE!'

Figures.

I chuckled and tossed it onto the bee's boom box, setting the CDs aside and looking around for something else to preoccupy me. A fact I had heard once popped into my head. _You can burn up to 150 calories per hour by banging your head against a wall._ I was bored enough, I guess, and turned my chair towards the grungy, soggy surface.

I shrugged and leaned back, readying my forehead. "Might as well-"

As if on cue, the double doors leading to the lobby swung open, and Espio and Charmy sauntered into the Office with me about to slam my head into the wall. They froze and peeked around the restaurant branded sacks in their arms.

"Boss?" Espio questioned, raising a brow. "What are you...?"

"Er..." I shyly grinned and swiveled my chair around to face them, clasping my hands on the desk. "Welcome back, boys! What'd ya get?" The salivating odor of the food blew in as fresh air rushed into the Office.

Charmy's antennae wiggled. "Food! Your favorite too!" He buzzed over and set his load onto the desk after shoving aside an overstuffed binder.

I sniffed. "Oh, ho ho... Do I smell a cheesesteak?" I sniffed deeper, eyes widening. "On _sourdough?" _

He nodded rigorously and handed me the bulging sandwich. I could've drooled on it, had I not slammed my mouth shut. Espio came forward and dropped his sack, opening it and reaching inside. "Yes sir. From the Illusion Café and Bar. We apologize for the wait. The afternoon lunch rush was exceedingly long today." He took out a small styrofoam box, which held his lunch.

The impatience I had felt earlier with them was gone in an instant as I unwrapped the cheesesteak. The shredded meat inside was pleading for me to eat it. "No problem, you two. If you bring the goods, I'm all smiles." I took a huge, succulent bite that sent my taste buds on a rave. "Thanks."

Espio gave a quick bow and took his food to the holey leather sofa in the middle of the room. Once sat down (legs crossed), he opened the box. I saw lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, olives, avocado, and peppers stocked between a flatbread sandwich as he held it up and licked his lips. Charmy joined him soon after, wielding a large corn dog, a mini cup of ketchup, and a small pack of chipotle curly fries.

I stopped mid-bite and gawked at Espio. "What the heck is that thing?"

He looked at his lunch. "A sandwich."

"No, you dolt, what _kind_ of sandwich is it?"

He flashed it for me, with its various stuffings. "Vegetable."

"Eh?"

Charmy scrunched his nose and stuck out his tongue. "Nasty! Bring on the meat!" He leaned over and waved his corn dog in Espio's face. "It's good for you! The dog, the batter, the stick, even the grease!"

Espio shied back and pushed it away. "Not for me. Meat is a vile substance that I shall not partake of any longer." He firmly grasped his vegetable burger.

I scratched my head in confusion. "So, what, you're some sorta vegan now? When did this happen?"

The chameleon put his food back into the box on our three-legged coffee table. "Properly said, it's _vegetarian,_ sir. I have become aware of just how cannibalistic we Mobians are. Have you ever thought that we raise cow, pig, and chicken hybrid Chao for food? And then, we cosset regular Chao as our pets?"

Charmy buzzed. "So? cowchao taste delicious!"

Espio held up a hand. "I'm not finished. And also, that we have citizens that are bulls, that are cows, and that are chickens? Does that not strike you as cannibalistic? It does so to me."

My jaw was wide open as my brain processed. "I guess...?"

"Well, despite what you think, I have vowed that I will not eat anything that has a face," Espio concluded, munching a chunk off his sandwich and chewing. He crunched awfully loudly. His speech was definite, but as I watched him masticate, I noticed that his mouth was crooked, clearly indicating that he wasn't enjoying the taste of his burger.

The spastic bee beside him pointed at himself. "I have a face! Does that mean you won't eat me, Espio?" His small finger shot over in my direction. "Or Vector?"

Espio swallowed harshly, a slight recoil making the spikes trailing his back shudder. "Yes, Charmy. I won't be eating either of you." He then looked grudgingly at his sandwich, and endured another bite.

I chuckled. "Well if you're so bent on eating nothing with a face, how are you gonna get your protein, huh?" Raising a brow, I waited for him to finish working on his bite.

Out of my foggy peripheral vision, Charmy turned his head towards me. Fingering his orange jacket, he asked, "Vector? Do I have protein?"

I was focused on Espio grimacing, so I didn't pay much attention to the six year old. "Can it, Charmy. I'm busy." He laughed carelessly and dug into his corn dog, nasally grunting.

When Espio finally swallowed, he thought. "Hm... Let me think..." He perked up after a few seconds. "Oh! Peanuts! Legume plants!" His enthusiasm died. "Aaand... the sort..." He smacked his lips and gazed into his sandwich again. The juices of the tomato dribbled off the bread and onto the scuffed wood panel floor. He moved his shoe out of the way and sighed heavily.

The ceiling fan blew the Illusion Café bag onto its side. I noticed a small white rectangle glinting on the inside. I reached in and recovered a crinkled receipt, which was printed with our three orders. The sourdough cheesesteak, the corn dog kid's meal, and the veggie deluxe burger had cost us 30 rings on the nose.

I looked to Espio as he hesitated to bite his sandwich again. I knew he was rushing into being a vegetarian and not thinking of the consequences. Espio often did that- acting before thinking and facing whatever happened afterward as boldly as possible. Unfortunately for him, his decisions were typically farfetched and landed him in difficult situations.

Feeling sympathetic towards the little ninja, I tore the uneaten half of my cheesesteak off and tossed it to him. His reflexes were like a cat's and he caught it one handed. He only cringed from the meat for a moment, then his yellow eyes rose towards me guiltily.

"Was a 15 ring vegan burger worth it?" I said.

His tail flattened. "No, sir." He dunked the sandwich back into the styrofoam box, scowling. "It was not."

I smiled and gestured towards the cheesesteak wad he held. "Then eat it. Vegetables won't give ya enough energy to do that cool ninja stuff you do. Meat _can." _I chomped into the rest of my lunch, part of me happy that I'd encouraged him, and the other part sad that I'd sacrificed half my food.

Espio slowly smiled as well, and slapped his box shut. "Yeah... You're right... Thank you, sir. I don't know what came over me. Vegetables? What was I thinking?" He then bit ravenously into the cheesesteak and chewed with savor. "I could never be a vegetarian. I like meat too much!"

Charmy was gnawing on his slimy corn dog stick, which was covered with tooth punctures. "And why shouldn't ya? Meat is delicious!" He grabbed a curly fry, drowning it in ketchup and popping it into his mouth. "Friess are too!" he thickly exclaimed.

Espio gave him a thankful nod and continued eating till the very last strip of meat and dribble of cheese. He sighed with content, then stood and removed his SLR camera from the junky locker. We watched as he turned the box to face him with the veggie burger inside and flipped it open.

"What are you doing?" I asked, curious and mildly concerned that he was photographig his food.

"Reminding myself that I'll never be a vegetarian in this lifetime," Espio informed with a hint of humor. An almost invisible smirk hinted his features.

My cheesesteak was getting cold, so I crammed the last, stuffed bite into my jaws and chewed happily. The chameleon fiddled with his camera's mechanics, a symphony of whirring and droning coming from it. He spun the protrudent end of it twice, the hole that took the pictures growing and shrinking.

"Adjust the shutter speed..." he murmured, his thumb flipping around the device. "Then, focus the lens..." Espio got really close to his partially eaten burger, and with a _click_ of his camera, took a picture. He stood once it was taken, pleased. "Perfect. Now I'll think of this picture whenever I see a vegetable."

Charmy's brows scrunched. "Yeah, because vegetables are nasty! Bleh!"

My gaze shot to his fries. "Technically, potatoes are vegetables. Fries are made from potatoes."

"Ah, yes. The spud is a common vegetable on Mobius," Espio added. "Very popular."

He horrifiedly stared into his hand. "They _ARE?"_ Freaking out, Charmy threw his curly fries across the room and _through_ the window, breaking the glass. My heart could've stopped. We all went stiff once we heard the shatter rain onto the lawn and into the room. Outside, the nearby street's traffic whooshed by.

His mouth became a small line and his antennae drooped. "Oops."

I stood in a flash, bounding over to the broken window. "You broke it!" I examined the pitiful, chipotle smeared shards and ground my teeth. "You broke it!"

"How did you manage to break the window with _curly fries?"_ Espio marveled, interrogating the little bee. "That's impossible!"

"Uh-!"

I whirled on them. "You bet it's possible, buzzy boy!" I raised a fist and glared into Charmy with greed, stabbing a finger towards his face. _"That's another 300 rings I gotta cough up fer you!"_

Charmy held up his hands in a peace motion, sweat seeping from beneath his flight helmet and his tiny wings beginning to beat. "I'm sorry, Vector! I'm sorry!" he stammered nervously. "I didn't mean to!"

My tail writhed. I absolutely, more than anything on the planet itself, hated it when Charmy screwed up, and I was the one to clean his mess. "Oh, so you didn't mean to continuously flush the toilets after ya finished your business? Or tie yourself to the ceiling fan and fly around?" I scratched my chin and tapped my foot heavily on the floor. "What about experiment with stink bomb recipes in the broom closet?"

"Hey, they weren't _that_ bad-"

"THAT BAD? I was smelling your fermented lime and Chao vomit concoction for months!" The acrid odor lurked within my nostrils to this very day, and it also did to Espio's. He shuddered at my remark.

"But I was just having fun!"

I snapped. "I'LL SHOW YOU FUN, YA LITTLE TROUBLEMAKER!" I sprinted for him with mouth agape in a bellowing snarl and my hands outstretched to grab him by the head.

Charmy yiped and took off, buzzing about the Office to get out of harm's way. He sped behind my desk, and waited for me to make my move. Facing each other on the opposites sides of the furniture, I swung for him. Unfortunately for me, he flew out of my reach and I cracked my knuckles brutally on the back of my chair.

"Yeeouch! Charmy, you better get back here or I'm gonna deduct your pay, mister!" I shouted through the pain.

I twisted and found him clinging to a pile of empty boxes in the corner. "You don't pay us at all, Vector! Not even allowance!"

Espio nodded. "It's true."

"Can it!" I barked at the chameleon. Then my tone softened as I looked to the small insect. "Would you like a salary, starting now?"

Charmy brightened. "Oh boy! Yeah!"

_"Psych!" _I sneered and launched myself at him, holding the box he was gripping tight. With a snort, I held him by the wrist and pulled his squirming form closer.

"Let go of me!" he cried, and flexed his rear end.

I had momentarily forgotten that Charmy was a bee.

The sharp explosion of pain bloomed in the pit of my elbow as I released the spastic little headache from my grasp. I clenched my arm and bit back a shrill scream. His stinger glinted menacingly as he buzzed off, a not-even-mildly-intimidating glare on his cute face. "Ha! Take that, you PMS-ing croc!"

I growled at him. "You don't even know that PMS-ing means!"

He paused. "So what if I don't?"

I curled my fingers. "Then I'm gonna teach ya!" He was hovering above Espio, and as soon as I came charging, the chameleon leapt away and stuck himself to the wall. I plowed into the sofa and coffee table in my pursuit of Charmy, with papers being flung to and fro and CD cases soaring into the air.

"You can't catch me! You can't catch me!" he sang.

I barreled through the cramped Office, destruction in my wake as I chased the guy with fire in my steps. He swirled and twirled whilst flying, showing off and blowing raspberries at me. No matter how many times I reached for him, he'd fly out of my range and boo.

"Couldja help me, Espio?" I grumbled, only watching him get off his wall amusedly for a second.

He shook his head and grinned. "Sorry boss, but I don't want to interrupt this fight." He held up his camera and began to snap photos. "This is between Power and Fly only; no Speed involved."

"Agh, you're worthless!"

"Hmhmhmm. Only sometimes."

Charmy resumed his chiding merrily. "You can't catch-"

I had had it. With a jump and grunt, I caught him by the face and directed his angry behind towards the ceiling. His wings fluttered insanely, and he kicked and punched in his struggle to break free. The kid's muffled hollers oozed from between my fingers. "Booyah." I smiled triumphantly.

_"Mffm mmfffffuufff!" _

"What's that? I can't hear you over the sound of my victory, Charmy! You need to speak up!" I teased. A twenty year old stud like me wasn't going to be beaten by a six year old spazz. That was ridiculous. "Ha ha _ha!"_

"Excellent job, boss. Once again you've wrangled our rebel," Espio congratulated, performing a two finger salute on his forehead. "It appears that over this month you haven't lost your mojo."

I put my free hand on my hip and looked upward. "Yeah. I'm a fighting machine, aren't I?" Throwing Charmy butt-first into the sofa, I strode to my chair and sat down. "Fighting machine Vector... I like that." Fantasies of myself conquering people played like tapes before my eyes. I smiled dreamily.

Charmy pouted and folded his arms. "Pushy money-grubber..."

Through my imagining, I didn't quite catch his grumbled words. "Heh?"

He shrugged and picked up his garbage from his meal and stuffed it into our bagless trash bin. I noticed his protrudent stinger had poked another hole in the sofa cushion. Great.

I gritted my teeth at the thought of having to pay one more pesky bill. Charmy was valuable in a sense, when he wasn't terrorizing the innocent furniture of the Office or busting up my eardrums with his constant blabber. Although a pain in my neck, I had a soft spot for the little guy. He was like the younger brother I never had.

Espio caught my attention as he jerked his head towards the sealed doors, squinting and holding a ready stance. I never got to ask him what was up before I heard the heavy, clumsy footsteps and someone smashed into a couch outside, hollering. Then the doors were practically ripped apart, an exhausted teenager stumbling inside the Office.

He was a turquoise furred tiger with sapphire stripes. On his forehead, spiked bangs stuck out askew, and his short, shaggy spines hung limply around his neck. He was covered on his chest, harms, and legs in glossy white fur, with his tail just as fluffy and dragging on the ground. His ears were flopping this way and that as he tumbled into the place, panic-stricken and panting.

I stood and surveyed his haggard form. "What's the rush, sir?"

He placed a hand on his heaving chest and tried to slow his breathing. He had been running quite a while, judging by his flushed cheeks and tousled hair. Even the blue of his eyes seemed exhausted.

Finally, he regained enough energy to speak. "You... have to help... us..." His voice was gravelly and unnaturally deep for a teen. "Team Chaotix... I implore you..."

"Help with what?" Espio asked, coming forward to face him head on. He cocked his head to the side, tail curling and uncurling inquisitively. "What's happened?"

The tiger straightened from slouching and swallowed audibly. "My city, Manika, has been overrun by a terrible Monarch. He's taken most of my friends and family- I had nowhere else to turn but to you!" He grabbed Espio by the shoulders and lightly shook him. "Please! There isn't a minute to lose! He'll destroy everything if we don't stop him!"

I watched the tiger. "A Monarch has taken over your city? How? What exactly is he doing?"

His face desaturated till he was pale as a ghost. "Er..." he gurgled, tail tip twitching.

"Whuh?" Charmy wondered.

He hung his head and shook it. "It is too gruesome to expound upon. I... I am sorry I cannot be of much help in details." He paused and raised his head, miserably studying us all. "I need your help, Team Chaotix. _Manika_ needs your help. Please."

I had my mind set to go and beat the lights out of that Monarch dude, but I first exchanged looks with the boys. "What do you guys think?"

Charmy's antennae twirled in agreement. "Let's be heroes again, Vector!" He raised a closed hand and hovered above the floor. "Yeah!"

Hope dawned in the tiger's eyes. His ears and tail perked up as we waited for the chameleon's final approval.

Espio's face was troubled. I could practically see the cogs in his head turning in thought. After a few seconds, he pursed his lips. "I suppose we could lend a hand..."

_"Suppose?" _Charmy retorted. "How can you say that, Espio? This guy's whole city is in danger!"

I nodded. "Yeah, Espio. Don't doubt another mission! Quit being so cold."

His brows contorted and his eyes flashed with reprisal. "You should have listened to me last time, sir! That voice -our _'client'-_- in the walkie-talkie was Eggman all along! We led ourselves into the palm of his hand without any hesitation last time!" He shot a caustic look to the tiger, who wilted visibly. "I say we don't go. This could be another of the doctor's schemes!"

I stomped over to him. "No! I don't care how much you whine, we're going to Manika City because we're the only ones who can oust that Monarch! Mister tiger here's desperate. We gotta do this, Espio."

"But-"

I stamped my foot harshly, the remaining slivers of glass in the window shuddering. "That wasn't a suggestion! I don't wanna hear another peep outta you about this, got it? Now let's go!" I thrust my finger towards the door and frowned sternly at the chameleon, making my statement as the supreme leader of this conversation final.

He folded his arms and sulked angrily, murmuring, "Yes, sir..."

With that settled, I turned to the pitiful tiger, who was uneasily listening and even paler than usual. "We'll do it. You can count on us." I flashed a powerful grin. "Team Chaotix, expert detectives, at your service."

He exhaled gratefully, falling to his knees again and bowing over my feet. "Thank you... Thank you..." he mumbled breathlessly. I felt pretty important with him on the ground before me. Like a king over his slave.

Grabbing a flimsy atlas from one of our dented filing cabinets, I waved for Espio and Charmy to follow me as I marched out the double doors. I flipped opened the book and scanned the pages full of Mobian maps. Charmy and Espio peeked over my arms in interest as I cycled through prints, puzzled. I'd never heard of Manika City before, and had no idea where it was. "Hey," I called, turning towards the doorway behind me. "Where'd you say your city was-!"

I stopped and gaped.

"What is it, Vector?" Charmy said, buzzing around my head and trying to get a glimpse of what I had cut short for. "What? What?"

"He's..."

"Vanished," Espio breathed. It was true.

The tiger was gone.

* * *

"Was he a phantom?" Espio questioned quietly. His voice barely carried over the whispery crunching of our feet on the sandy road. We were walking towards Emerald Bay, after scouring the atlas twelve times over. Turns out Manika City was on the cape of Windchine Island in the Emerald Sea, and thank goodness our Detective Agency was relatively close by.

"Agh!" Charmy squeaked. "Ghosts!"

I shivered. "Dunno. But whoever he was..." Trailing off, I frowned, unsure of what to say. I was still pretty spooked by the tiger's disappearance, and I could tell that the rest of my team was too.

Nobody just went _poof _like he did. It was a little unnerving. We flipped our place upside down in search for him, but there wasn't a single scrap of evidence to show that the guy had even existed.

I realized I hadn't asked for his name.

Periodically taking, a peek over my shoulder, I felt like prying stares were smothering my back. Though far from our Office, chills still threatened my scales.

"Whoever he was, what?" Espio asked, one brow raised at me.

I took in a breath but didn't say anything. I was the muscle of the team, I didn't have time to be paranoid. If I was, Espio and Charmy would stop believing in me. I couldn't let that happen. Not on a case like this. I had to be tough.

"Er... nothin'. Don't worry about it. I was just... blathering, is all."

Espio fingered the strap of his camera bag, which he had brought along. "Whatever you say, sir."

Avoiding any more talk on this uncomfortable subject, I flipped open the atlas. "Okay... Let's see here..." I studied the glossy illustrations, spotting the pinpoint of Manika City. If I looked at it, Windchine Island was shaped like a broken femur. Interesting.

I extended my arms and rotated the magazine in confusion. "How much farther do we have to go? This distance ruler is screwy."

Espio shrugged. "Don't ask me."

Charmy buzzed up to my level, inspected the map, and laughed. "It's easy, Vector! We're right here!" He poked the coastline illustration labeled _Emerald Bay_.

I slapped the book shut in his face. "And what makes you so sure? I don't see a mile counter on you. Nor do I see a compass!" I scrutinized him through squinted eyes.

Charmy's next response was like a douse of icy water. "Well, judging by our walking speed and the distance from Emerald Bay to our Agency, we should have walked about six miles. We aren't very fast walkers, so it took us about forty-five minutes to walk the space to our destination."

I gawked at him. _"Where the heck did that come from?"_

Espio snickered. "Don't you remember, sir? You enrolled Charmy in flight school. He was required to know this kind of stuff."

"Whaa? When did I enroll him in flight school?"

"After he got his concussion. Remember? He couldn't fly straight and kept running his skull into that tree. We got him the flight helmet for both that _and_ his flight school uniform." Espio raised a brow again. "You were infuriated at the prices."

Suddenly the remembrance of wasting my hard-earned cash on that tuition and the medical bill gave me an epiphany. "Oh yeah! That schoolteacher was a tightwad. Couldn't stand him or the doctor with the crooked nose!"

I turned back to Charmy. "You _really_ knew _all_ that gobbledygook you said?"

He rolled his head modestly. "Most of it. Plus, I could smell the sea, so I knew we were getting close."

I whiffed the air. It was noticeably saltier than it had been a few minutes previous. "Ah. That makes more sense. I'll admit, you're not the brightest crayon in the box, kid. Must've been that tree."

"Hey!"

Espio chuckled.

"What're you laughing at?" I demanded.

He disguised his personal laughter by clearing his throat. "Uh, nothing, sir. Pollen."

"Pollen," I said flatly. "Right."

"Ooh, I love pollen!" Charmy squealed. He flew up to my face and began running his tiny hands over my jaw. "Oh, can I have some gum, Vector?"

"What? Quiet, buzzy. One more peep outta you, and I'm gonna send that smelly tramp you love so much to the pound."

"You can't! We're not even at the Office!"

"So?"

Espio perked up, interrupting our debate. "Sir! Look!"

I followed his finger over to a broad expanse of wiggling green in the distance. Grass. For a minute, I thought my vision had gone loopy. That was a _lot of grass._ Then I realized, with all the little boats sitting on it, that the 'grass' before us was actually water, gleaming in the mid-afternoon sunshine.

"Is that...?"

"Emerald Bay," Espio informed. "That has got to be the greenest water I've ever seen!" With an excited luster in his eyes, he sprinted down the sandy, shrub-dotted hill towards the line of buildings at its foot. "C'mon! Let's go check it out!"

"Yeah! I gotta get my swim trunks!" Charmy whooped.

The little bee and I followed Espio as he zoomed down the hill, kicking up sand in his wake. We were going so fast, I had to hold onto my headphones.

We eventually skidded to a grain-slinging stop, spewing sand over the cobbled, dusty stones that were the makings of streets. The babble of laughter and talk met us as crowds appeared, and a few eyes turned to gaze at us. I tipped a pretend hat to a rather good looking lady who eyed my muscle. She giggled and melted into the congregation.

I stopped Espio and Charmy before they could hurl themselves into the chaos. "Wait a minute, boys. Remember, we're on a mission here. We gotta make a beeline to Manika; the people need us. Stay focused, all right?"

Espio pried his sparking gaze from the people and gave a quick nod. Charmy merely screeched, "Beeline, beeline!"

I grabbed him by the leg and towed him midair behind me, following Espio and slipping into the rhythm of bodies in the streets of Emerald Bay. My lungs immediately protested as I breathed in the combinative stenches of sweat, brine, perfume, and motor oil. It made my head swim. I kept my watch glued on the purple ninja.

"Should we head to the docks?" Espio shouted above the smothering voices.

"Yeah! That's where the boats are!" I shouted back, firming my grip on Charmy's squirming ankle. He was attempting to break free of my hold as a seafaring attire store passed by. I could tell by his desperate struggling that he was drawn by the life vests in the windows. Life vests were one of his favorite accessories, oddly.

"Vector! Vector! It's so... so plush and round! Can we buy it?" His baby carrot-like fingers curled earnestly for the stocky life vest that was beckoning him.

I rolled my eyes and crept a few paces closer to Espio. "Absolutely not! You've already got several life vests, we don't need twenty more. C'mon."

"Aww... But it's so-"

"No, Charmy," I moaned.

Besides Charmy being a pesky nuisance, and the claustrophobic qualities of this place, Emerald Bay wasn't too shabby. The sky stretched overhead between grandiose hotels, the salty breeze was refreshing, and the clouds were like puffy marshmallows. I wet my lips at the smells of barbecue pouring from restaurant doors, and the sweet, sugary odor of fresh, tropical drinks.

The people weren't that bad, either. Some were rude, pushing and glaring. But others offered us warm smiles. I felt welcome in a place that I had never set foot into.

Finally we wove our way through the dense streets. Emerging on the more airy docks, I let Charmy go. He swirled around almost drunkenly above the dock, humming a random tune. "Sea, sea, sea..."

I put my hands on my hips and scanned the peridot-hued horizon, thinking. How were we going to get to Windchine? I certainly didn't want to pull any type of theft. That was despicable. I didn't know anyone personally who could lend us a boat; and despite his energy, I wasn't positive Charmy would be capable of flying us across an ocean and to the bleak spot of land far off the shores. We'd sooner be eaten by orcas.

The shadows of boat masts striped my shoes and swayed in the heaving tides. Water sloshed below me, and I suddenly got a little seasick. Was it the feeling of floating on the loose docks, or the thought of riding a boat that got me nauseous? Swallowing a tinge of the bilious feeling, I turned to Espio in plea.

"Got any ideas?"

He had a hand on his camera bag, with deep marks of thought streaking his face. His tail uncoiled slightly as he blinked in the glare of the waves. "There doesn't seem to be anyone we can contact for a trip across Emerald Sea... I'm not one enthusiastic about swimming, either..."

I considered my expensive headphones. "Me neither. And I'm a croc!"

Charmy hovered over, interested in our conversation, and shook his head. "I can't swim, even _with_ my life vest!"

"Hm..." Espio glanced around, and his eyes rested on something I couldn't see. "Perhaps that would...?"

"Huh? What?" I tried to spot what he was considering, but wasn't sure exactly. I shifted around. All I saw on the water were two pontoons, a few speedboats with jet skis, a small kayak, and a rusty, barnacle-covered fishing boat.

"Which do you have in mind, Espio?" I asked, becoming antsy.

He chewed his lip and pointed a finger at the barnacle crusted boat. "That one."

"THAT one?" I echoed.

Charmy's nose scrunched as his antennae flicked. "It smells like nasty fish! Why this one?"

Espio rolled his eyes, motioning to a lumbering figure a few meters away. "The captain's ready to disembark. I figured, we would not have to wait any longer to get to Manika. The tiger sounded urgent, didn't he?"

I peered closer at the captain as he hobbled across the dock. He was a snapping turtle, swathed in a salty brown cloak with frayed sleeves. On his head was a misshapen sailor's hat, which had a dried up star fish on its front. His knickers were creased and wrinkled, with seaweed and fish bones dangling from the pockets. The guy had recently bought a pair of boots, they thudded heavily against the boardwalk. A price tag fluttered from the footwear.

I made a face and scratched my head, looking back to the boat. Fishing nets hung at its flaking sides, along with buoys and an enormous anchor. "Uh... I guess we got nothin' to lose... His boat seems... seaworthy." With a glance at his shell poking through holes in his cloak, I added, "I'm not sure about _him_ though."

Espio took a step forward. "I sense he is solemn. Shall we, then?"

"Yeah."

Charmy indifferently flew at my side as we approached the turtle man. "He's crusty!"

I ignored him. "Excuse me, sir? I, uh, require some assistance," I called.

The captain kept walking.

"H-hey! I need to talk to you!" I thundered in front of him and ground to a halt. He had his head down, though I could see the tip of his beak peeking from beneath his hat. "Sir, I'm part of a detective agency, and my cohorts and I are seeking passage for Manika City. Would it be too much trouble-"

"-to ask for a ride?" he finished in a bristly, aged voice.

"Er... Yes, actually." Charmy and Espio flocked to my sides, smiling their most polite.

He straightened. I felt his steel-bluish eyes trailing up and down the boys and I with peruse. He clacked his beak once. "Well now, I suppose it wouldn't be too much of a burden... I _am _a local fisherman there. Make a round trip most every week. Beautiful city, yes, very beautiful..."

"So, it's okay, then? You wouldn't mind?"

He made an odd gurgling noise deep in his throat. "That all depends, sir. What are your intentions for visiting Manika?" His leathery set of brows crackled skyward. "A leisurely sojourn, I presume?"

My jaw went slack as I thought. "Er-"

"No, sir. We-Team Chaotix-are currently on an important venture. Business, you see," Espio said quickly. "We are responding to a call from Manika." Charmy nodded vigorously in concluding.

The captain's right eye bulged at Espio. The chameleon's lips tightened in response to the hideous gesture. "Is that so? What kind of call, lad?"

"A bad call, mister," Charmy replied. "Something _real_ bad's going on there. A tiger guy asked for our help."

He was a bit startled, but swiftly overruled the emotion. I barely noticed his reaction. Charmy and Espio were oblivious.

The captain squinted at his boat, then to us, then back again. He sighed. "Nothing a few stowaways won't hurt, I guess. Climb aboard the Salty Scallop, gents. You're free to come."

The three of us jumped and whooped simultaneously. "Yes! Boat ride!" Charmy called. "Shotgun!"

Espio snorted. "Shotgun? On a _boat?"_

"Why not, Espio?"

"We're on our way, boys! Manika City here-"

"On one condition," the captain interrupted as we were all halfway to the pitiful fishing boat. We stopped and faced him, hunched over in the shadow of a sail. "You lads only get to come along if you listen to my stories. My wife won't listen anymore, and neither will my friends or children." A frown hinted his features. "Been missing a live audience, since the fish won't listen. So, will you?"

I waved a hand passively. "Sure! We're all ears, sir. I mean, how bad can they be?"

My first big mistake.

The captain smirked and scrabbled forward gallantly. "Let's shove off!"

We cheered and boarded the Salty Scallop, excitement pulsing. He led us up a rusted iron platform and onto the boat, where the stench of a million rotted fish and tar filled our nostrils. This was worse than Charmy's stink bombs. I almost puked, the reek was so intense.

Team Chaotix stood revolted on the fish blood and ooze-stained deck. "Maybe we should've thought this through..." I mumbled. Charmy pulled his helmet as far as it would go in front of his nose, and Espio held his breath with disgust. I gagged on my own air.

"Excuse the smell, we've been lacking a good rain to clean this sorry deck off," the captain stated. He shuffled past us and waved his arms about the Salty Scallop. "Aside from her fragrance, what a beauty, eh? Finest ship on Emerald waters, she is!"

If _this_ was the _finest, _I cringed at the thought of what ship was the worst.

"So... when are we leaving, captain?" I asked nasally, since I had shoved my fingers over my nostrils.

"Right now, if you'd like." He skipped merrily to a control panel, which was placed before the Scallop's teeming propellers. "Hold onto something! She starts with a bang!"

We scrambled over to the ship's railing, where the horrible funk of the deck was the least powerful. Charmy wrapped his legs around the railing, while Espio gasped for air by forcing his face into the fresh air-harboring camera bag at his hip. I looked out onto the Salty Scallop deliriously. Either it was the boat bobbing in the water, or my vision was twirling like a top.

With an immense _crack_ that sounded like two hundred firing rifles, the Salty Scallop began chugging out of the bay. A thin cloud of smoke belched from the blackened engine behind the captain as he gleefully piloted the ship with beak agape in a huge grin. Wave by wave, we slowly drifted from land with people waving us away in relief at the absence of the wretched, smelly ship.

Espio's head swiveled in my direction. His eyes were strained with twinges of fear and distaste. "Sir? You don't look good..."

"I don't?"

"Uh-uh," Charmy went on, "you're looking a bit green."

I swallowed about a gallon of saliva before responding chokingly. "Well _that's_ a whomping surprise."

"Are you feeling all right, sir?" Espio asked.

"Dunno, I..." My head was swimming.

Once the ship was set on a straight course for Windchine, the captain approached us, clinging to the rails, with a stool in his hands. He placidly set it before us and sat himself down. "Ready fer some stories, lads?"

I agreed with a weak smile. Maybe him talking would get rid of the churning feeling in my gut. "Yes, please."

"Tell away!" Charmy said. Espio agreed silently.

The captain cleared his throat. "All right now, where to begin? Ah! How about the time I pulled in the throng of snotty eels from that poor blighter's fish farm?"

My stomach flipped. "S-s-snot eels?"

He nodded eagerly. "Oh yes! Snot eels are a specific breed of eel, that when frightened, secrete a slimy, mucous-like ooze from their flesh. If it gets in your pants you'll chafe and slippery for days, lad. It's all pale, and pasty, like a warm egg white. See?"

Espio and Charmy were wide eyed and sickened. They didn't dare to ask any questions about the snot eels.

I gulped repeatedly in a sequence that made my gut gargle. Why was there so much saliva in my mouth?

The captain went on, much to my resent. "Eh, I reckon I've seen my share of the stuff. Not the best gift to give to your wife on Mother's Day. Why give it to her? Now, there was this legend I picked up in the harbor, that if you swallow the stuff-"

My stomach contracted. I leaned over the rail and threw up my lunch.

"Sir!" Charmy and Espio chanted.

The captain rose and eyed my back as I retched over the side of the Salty Scallop. "Something wrong, crocodile?" I replied with more heaving. The fire in my stomach was beginning to cool, however, when he finished that sentence.

By now I was trying to steady my breathing and shaking limbs. Espio was consoling me with words, but Charmy was bewildered at my sudden change in health.

The captain's voice returned. "Don't worry. At least you've finished with that. We have an hour or so till we arrive in Manika. A bit of rough seas, but this boat's seen worse."

Worse? The sea appeared to shift and roil as I gazed into it with blurry eyes. My stomach reeled again and again till I was thoroughly emptied of any nourishment at all. I felt weak.

Spitting out the remainder of vomit in my mouth into the water, I gurgled, "Ugh..." as the Salty Scallop inched its way towards Windchine Island.

This would be the worst boat ride of my entire life as I hung over the railing, retching, seasick, and awaiting to kiss the stable ground once we arrived.

Which, according to the captain, would be an eternal, bilious hour.

**Ha. I love Vector. :P Anyway, I hope you liked it. Please review if you did. I promise the next chapter will be out soon. I PROMISE. Team Sonic is next, with an arrival in Manika City that'll stump ya!**

** Till next chapter!**


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